CN113543275A

CN113543275A - Method and system for system information acquisition in a wireless communication system

Info

Publication number: CN113543275A
Application number: CN202110725061.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: M.A.因盖尔; A.阿吉瓦尔
Original assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Current assignee: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-07-22
Filing date: 2017-07-21
Publication date: 2021-10-22
Anticipated expiration: 2037-07-21
Also published as: KR102362246B1; WO2018016922A1; CN109479236B; CN109479236A; CN113543275B; EP3911021A1; US20200359310A1; US20220132414A1; US20190223094A1; KR102327210B1; EP3476157A4; US10694460B2; KR20190022489A; KR20210135645A; EP3476157B1; US11665637B2; EP3476157A1; US11178608B2

Abstract

A method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: acquiring a System Information Block (SIB) broadcasted from a first cell, the SIB comprising a system configuration index associated with the SIB, a system information area identifier associated with the SIB, and an indicator indicating area-or cell-specific for the SIB; storing the acquired SIB; and acquiring, when performing cell selection from the first cell to the second cell, another SIB broadcasted from the second cell, the another SIB including a system configuration index associated with the another SIB, a system information area identifier associated with the another SIB, and an indicator indicating area-specific or cell-specific for the another SIB.

Description

Method and system for system information acquisition in a wireless communication system

The present application is a divisional application of an invention patent application having an application date of 2017, month 07, and day 21, an application number of 201780044717.8, entitled "method and system for system information acquisition in a wireless communication system".

Technical Field

Embodiments herein relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to a method and System for System Information (SI) acquisition in a wireless communication System.

Background

The present disclosure relates to a quasi-fifth Generation (5th-Generation, 5G) or 5G communication system that is being developed to meet the increasing demand for high-speed data services, support ultra-reliability and low-latency applications, and support large-scale machine type communication beyond a fourth Generation (4th-Generation, 4G) communication system such as a Long Term Evolution (LTE) system.

In order to meet the exponentially growing demand for data traffic and new services, efforts are being made to develop improved 5G or quasi-5G communication systems. Accordingly, the 5G or quasi-5G communication system is also referred to as a "super 4G network" or a "post-LTE system" or a "next generation International Mobile Telecommunication (IMT)" system or an IMT-2020 system.

The 5G communication system is considered to be implemented in a higher frequency (millimeter wave) band (for example, 10GHz to 100GHz band) in order to achieve a higher data rate. In order to reduce propagation loss of radio waves and increase transmission distance of radio waves, beam forming, massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Full-Dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beam forming, massive antenna technology are discussed in the 5G communication system.

In addition, in the 5G communication system, development of system Network improvement is being performed based on advanced small cells, cloud Radio Access Network (RAN), ultra-dense Network, Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, wireless backhaul, mobile relay-based mobile Network, cooperative communication, Coordinated Multi-point (CoMP), reception side interference cancellation, and the like.

In 5G communication systems, Hybrid FSK and QAM Modulation (FQAM) and Sliding Window Superposition Coding (SWSC), as Advanced Coding Modulation (ACM), and filterbank Multi-Carrier (FBMC), Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) and Sparse Code Multiple Access (SCMA), are potential candidates for Advanced Access technologies.

Furthermore, next generation wireless systems are expected to solve the problem of different use cases with very different requirements in terms of data rate, delay, reliability, mobility, etc. However, it is expected that the air interface design of next generation wireless systems is flexible enough to serve User Equipment (UE) with very different capabilities depending on the usage and market segmentation of the UE to provide services to the end customer. A few example use cases, next generation wireless systems are expected to address enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB), large Machine Type Communication (m-MTC), ultra-reliable low latency Communication (URLL), and so on. The eMBB, such as tens of Gbps data rate, low latency, high mobility, etc., requires solving the problem of market segmentation representing traditional wireless broadband users that require internet connectivity anytime and anywhere. m-MTC requirements such as very high connection density, infrequent data transmission, very long battery life, low mobility addresses, etc., address the problem of representing market partitioning of the Internet of Things (IoT)/Internet of Everything (IoE) that envisages connection of billions of devices. URLL, such as very low latency, very high reliability, and variable mobility, among others, requires addressing issues of industrial automation applications, vehicle-to-vehicle/vehicle-to-infrastructure communication market segments that represent one enabler that is envisioned as an autonomous vehicle (e.g., autonomous car, etc.).

Furthermore, the physical layer of the wireless cellular system in both Downlink (DL) and Uplink (UL) operating in mm/cm waves will be based on a new air interface different from the IMT-advanced air interface to meet challenging requirements and provide an enhanced mobile broadband user experience. Furthermore, the next generation IMT-advanced wireless cellular system is expected to provide a user experience data rate of several hundreds of Mbps to several tens of Gbps, compared to the IMT-advanced based wireless system. These very high data rates need to be universally available across coverage areas.

Furthermore, next generation wireless cellular systems are expected to achieve, in addition to the data rate experienced by the user, better spectral efficiency, e.g. peak data rates (tens of Gbps), reduced delays (as low as 1ms), in accordance with other requirements, compared to IMT-advanced systems and many other requirements. Due to the availability of a large amount of spectral bandwidth, next generation wireless cellular systems are envisioned to be deployed in higher frequency bands above 6GHz (e.g., 10 GHz-100 GHz, also known as millimeter waves and/or centimeter waves). In the initial stage of deployment, it is expected that the next generation wireless cellular system will be deployed at a low frequency band below 6GHz using spectrum farming technique (spectrum farming technique).

Furthermore, one of the requirements for the next generation RAT is energy efficiency; therefore, the design of system information provision needs to address energy efficiency requirements to minimize periodic broadcasts that are always on. Another aspect related to the broadcasting of system information is high signaling overhead in the context of next generation RAT operation in higher frequency bands (above 6GHz), where DL beam scanning operations inevitably reach the coverage area of a cell. Broadcasting all system information on coverage beams limited to DL beam scanning may result in excessive signaling overhead. Therefore, another design criterion for system information provision needs to address issues in terms of signaling overhead.

Furthermore, another aspect associated with the broadcast of system information using DL beam scanning is limited and inflexible scheduling. The transmission resources remaining after the system information consumes resources may be used only for data scheduling of the user in the DL coverage beam direction. Thus, if more time/frequency resources are consumed by the system information, user data scheduling becomes limited and inflexible. To illustrate the disclosed method for the UE to obtain system information, it is assumed that the air interface of the next generation wireless cellular system will be based on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) Radio Access Technology (RAT) in DL and UL. However, the numerology of next generation RATs (i.e., OFDM symbol duration, carrier spacing, etc.) may differ from OFDMA numerology of IMT-advanced systems.

Disclosure of Invention

Technical scheme

A primary object of embodiments herein is to provide a method and system for providing System Information (SI) in a wireless communication system.

It is another object of embodiments herein to decode a broadcast channel to obtain Minimum System Information (MSI) that is periodically transmitted by a base station.

It is another object of embodiments herein to apply at least one cell selection parameter indicated in an MSI to camp on a cell served by a base station.

It is another object of embodiments herein to access a camped cell based on at least one random access parameter indicated in the MSI.

It is another object of embodiments herein to determine whether to provide at least one of SI blocks of Other System Information (OSI) available in the camped cell based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis, wherein the on-demand basis for delivering SI blocks for OSI available in the camped cell is decided based on at least one of an indication and a flag included in the MSI.

It is another object of embodiments herein to trigger a SI request procedure on resources to access a camped cell to indicate to a base station to transmit at least one SI block of OSI after determining to provide at least one of the SI blocks of OSI on an on-demand basis if at least one of an indication and a flag in the MSI of the SI block is not enabled.

It is another object of embodiments herein to not trigger the SI request procedure after determining to provide all SI blocks available OSI through periodic broadcast if at least one of the indication and flag in the MSI for the respective SIB block is enabled.

It is another object of embodiments herein to monitor a corresponding SI window indicated by scheduling information included in the MSI to acquire one or more SI blocks of an OSI available in a camped cell.

It is another object of embodiments herein to monitor a paging channel to determine whether at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell is expected to be updated.

It is another object of embodiments herein to examine at least one of: a system information change indicator included in the paging message, a plurality of SCIs associated with each updated SI block included in the paging message, and a system information area identifier (SAID) included in the paging message.

It is another object of embodiments herein to store one or more SI blocks of OSI available in a camped cell, acquired by a UE through periodic broadcast or through a trigger request procedure, wherein the stored SI blocks of OSI are associated with at least a System Information area identifier (SAID) and a System Information Configuration Index (SCI).

More specifically, another object of embodiments herein is to provide a method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system, the method comprising: acquiring a System Information Block (SIB) broadcasted from a first cell, the SIB comprising a system configuration index associated with the SIB, a system information area identifier associated with the SIB, and an indicator indicating area-or cell-specific for the SIB; storing the acquired SIB; and acquiring, when performing cell selection from the first cell to the second cell, another SIB broadcasted from the second cell, the another SIB including a system configuration index associated with the another SIB, a system information area identifier associated with the another SIB, and an indicator indicating area-specific or cell-specific for the another SIB.

Drawings

The embodiments herein will be better understood from the following detailed description with reference to the drawings, in which:

fig. 1 is an example illustration of a Radio Access Network (RAN) deployment of a next generation wireless system according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

fig. 2a is a schematic illustration of MIB transmission with the same periodicity as LTE (i.e. 40ms) and repetition of each radio frame using 4 DL coverage beams according to the prior art;

figure 2b is a schematic illustration of repeated SIB1 transmissions in alternate radio frames with the same periodicity as LTE (i.e. 80ms) and using 4 DL coverage beams, according to prior art;

fig. 3 is an example scenario in which a Primary Broadcast Channel (PBCH) is Broadcast from a cell of a next generation wireless system, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

fig. 4a is a sequential flow diagram illustrating a stepwise procedure for acquiring SI on an on-demand basis by a UE in a next generation wireless system according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

fig. 4b is a sequential flow diagram illustrating a step-by-step process for acquiring SI by a UE, which is periodically broadcast from a cell in a next generation wireless system, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

fig. 5a to 5c depict schematic illustrations of the applicability of a system information table according to embodiments as disclosed herein and a system information configuration according to a system configuration index;

fig. 6a is a schematic illustration of a procedure for applying system information configuration according to a System Configuration Index (SCI) acquired from an MSI during cell reselection or according to an SCI acquired from a paging message during TRP handover within the same cell when an acquired SCI and/or area Id exists in an SIT (system information table), according to an embodiment as disclosed herein;

fig. 6b and 6c illustrate a stepwise procedure of system information configuration according to a system configuration index acquired from a paging message or MSI during TRP handover within the same cell or during cell reselection when the acquired SCI and/or area Id is not present in the SIT, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

fig. 7a and 7b illustrate example scenarios in which updating of system information configuration according to a system information change indication included in a paging message is explained, according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

fig. 7c illustrates an example scenario where a system information change indication is included in a paging message along with a changed SCI and/or area Id in accordance with embodiments as disclosed herein;

fig. 8 illustrates an example scenario in which a change in system information configuration according to a system information area identifier (area Id/SAID) included in an MSI is explained, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein;

fig. 9a is a block diagram illustrating various modules of a 5G eNB according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

fig. 9b is a block diagram illustrating various modules of a UE according to embodiments as disclosed herein;

fig. 10a is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing SI by a base station in a wireless communication system according to embodiments as disclosed herein; and

fig. 10b is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing SI for a UE in a wireless communication system according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

Detailed Description

Embodiments herein disclose a method for providing System Information (SI) for a User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system.

The method comprises the steps of decoding a broadcast channel to obtain first system information periodically transmitted by a base station; applying at least one cell selection parameter indicated in the first system information to camp on a cell served by the base station; storing first system information; accessing the camped cell based on at least one random access parameter indicated in first system information; determining whether to provide at least one of system information blocks of second system information available in the camped cell based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis, wherein the on-demand basis for delivering the system information blocks of the second system information available in the camped cell is decided based on at least one of an indication and a flag included in the first system information for the system information blocks; and monitoring a paging channel to receive a paging message to determine whether at least one of the system information blocks available in the camped cell is expected to be updated.

In an embodiment, first system information is periodically transmitted on at least a Primary Broadcast Channel (PBCH) and a Secondary Broadcast Channel (SBCH), wherein the first system information includes at least a first Master Information Block (MIB) and a second master information block.

In an embodiment, if at least one of the indication and the flag in the first system information for the system information block is not enabled, after determining the corresponding system information block that provides the second system information on an on-demand basis, a system information request procedure is triggered on resources to access the camping cell to indicate to the base station at least one system information block that sends the second system information.

In an embodiment, the system information request procedure is not triggered after determining all system information blocks providing second system information available in the camped cell by periodic broadcasting if at least one of an indication and a flag in the first system information for the respective system information block is enabled.

In an embodiment, the method further comprises: monitoring a corresponding system information window indicated by scheduling information included in the first system information to acquire one or more system information blocks of second system information available in the camped cell; and storing one or more system information blocks of second system information available in the camping cell, acquired by the user equipment through periodic broadcasting or through triggering a system information request procedure, wherein the stored system information blocks of the second system information are associated with at least a system information area identifier (SAID) and a system information configuration index (SCI).

Embodiments herein disclose a method for providing SI by a base station in a wireless communication system. The method comprises the following steps: transmitting a broadcast channel to at least one User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, wherein the broadcast channel periodically transmits first system information including at least a first Master Information Block (MIB) and a second master information block; providing second system information to at least one user equipment in the wireless communication system based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis, wherein on-demand delivery of at least one system information block of the second system information is based on a system information request procedure triggered by the at least one user equipment, and the on-demand basis of a system information block for delivering the second system information available in the camping cell is decided based on at least one of an indication and a flag included in the first system information for the system information block; and transmitting a paging message on a paging channel to indicate to the at least one user equipment that at least one of the system information blocks available in the camped cell is expected to be updated.

In an embodiment, the first system information comprises a plurality of System Configuration Indices (SCIs) and a system information area identifier (SAID), wherein each system configuration index is associated with a configuration of a respective System Information Block (SIB) available as second system information in the camped cell, and wherein the system information area identifier defines a system information area validity range for the plurality of system configuration indices.

In an embodiment, the first system information comprises at least: downlink (DL) system bandwidth information, System Frame Number (SFN), public land mobile network identifier (PLMN-ID) list, Tracking Area Code (TAC), global cell identifier, transmission reception point identifier (TRP-ID), TRP-group ID, system information area identifier (SAID), a cell barring status, a configuration of resources including one or more system information blocks for requesting second system information provided on an on-demand basis, scheduling information related to an SI window of the one or more SI blocks for receiving the second system information, an enhanced physical downlink control channel (ePDCCH) configuration, a cell selection parameter for camping, a random access parameter, a plurality of indicators, and a plurality of System Configuration Indexes (SCIs).

Embodiments herein disclose a User Equipment (UE) for providing SI in a wireless communication system. The UE is configured to: decoding a broadcast channel to acquire first system information periodically transmitted by a base station; applying at least one cell selection parameter indicated in the first system information to camp on a cell served by the base station; storing first system information; accessing a camping cell based on at least one random access parameter indicated in the MSI; determining whether to provide at least one of system information blocks of second system information available in the camped cell based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis, wherein the on-demand basis for acquiring the system information blocks of the second system information available in the camped cell is decided based on at least one of an indication and a flag included in the first system information for the system information blocks; and monitoring a paging channel to receive a paging message to determine whether at least one of the system information blocks available in the camped cell is expected to be updated.

In an embodiment, the first system information comprises at least: downlink (DL) system bandwidth information, a System Frame Number (SFN), a public land mobile network identifier (PLMN-ID) list, a Tracking Area Code (TAC), a global cell identifier, a transmission reception point identifier (TRP-ID), a TRP-group ID, a system information area identifier (SAID), a cell barring status, a configuration of resources including one or more system information blocks for requesting second system information provided on an as-needed basis, scheduling information related to a system information window for receiving the one or more system information blocks of the second system information, an enhanced physical downlink control channel (ePDCCH) configuration, a cell selection parameter for camping, a random access parameter, a plurality of indicators, and a plurality of System Configuration Indices (SCIs).

In an embodiment, monitoring the paging channel includes determining whether at least one of the system information blocks available in the camped cell is expected to be updated.

Embodiments herein disclose a base station for providing SI in a wireless communication system. The base station is configured to: transmitting a broadcast channel to at least one User Equipment (UE) in a wireless communication system, wherein the broadcast channel periodically transmits first system information (MSI) including at least a first Master Information Block (MIB) and a second master information block; and providing second system information to the at least one user equipment in the wireless communication system based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis, wherein on-demand delivery of at least one system information block of the second system information is based on a system information request procedure triggered by the at least one user equipment, and the on-demand basis for delivery of a corresponding system information block of the second system information available in the camping cell is decided based on at least one of an indication and a flag for the system information block that is included in the first system information; and transmitting a paging message on a paging channel to indicate to the at least one user equipment that at least one of the system information blocks available in the camped cell is expected to be updated.

In an embodiment, at least a system information change indicator and one or more system information block types and associated system configuration indexes included in the paging message are transmitted in the current system modification interval indicating that a configuration corresponding to at least one system information block is updated from the beginning of the next system modification interval.

The method includes decoding a broadcast channel to obtain Minimum System Information (MSI) periodically transmitted by a base station. Further, the method includes storing the MSI and applying at least one cell selection parameter indicated in the MSI to camp on a cell served by the base station. Further, the method includes accessing the camped cell based on the at least one random access parameter indicated in the MSI. Further, the method includes determining whether to provide at least one of Other System Information (OSI) SI blocks available in the camped cell based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis. An on-demand basis for delivering the SI blocks of OSIs available in the camped cell is decided based on at least one of an indication and a flag included in the MSI for the SI blocks. Further, the method includes monitoring a paging channel to receive a paging message to determine whether updating of at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell is expected.

In an embodiment, the MSI is transmitted periodically on at least one of a Primary Broadcast Channel (PBCH) and a Secondary Broadcast Channel (SBCH). The MSI includes at least one of a first Master Information Block (MIB) and a second MIB.

In an embodiment, a first MIB is transmitted on the PBCH and a second MIB is transmitted on the SBCH, wherein scheduling information of the SBCH is indicated in the first MIB.

In an embodiment, the scheduling information included in the first MIB indicates at least one of a periodicity of the second MIB transmitted on the SBCH and an absence of the second MIB when the second MIB is not transmitted on the SBCH.

In an embodiment, when the scheduling information included in the first MIB indicates that the second MIB is not present, then the cell is considered to be barred because the UE cannot acquire the entire contents of the MSI.

In an embodiment, after determining to provide at least one SI block of OSI on an on-demand basis, if at least one of an indication and a flag in the MSI for the SI block is not enabled, a SI request procedure is triggered on resources to access the camped cell to instruct the base station to transmit the at least one SI block of OSI.

In an embodiment, the SI request procedure is not triggered after determining to provide all SI blocks of OSI available in the camped cell by periodic broadcast if at least one of the indication and the flag in the MSI for the respective SIB block is enabled.

In an embodiment, the method further includes monitoring a corresponding SI window indicated by the scheduling information included in the MSI to acquire one or more SI blocks of the OSI available in the camped cell. Further, the method includes storing one or more SI blocks of OSI available in the camped cell acquired by the UE through periodic broadcast or through triggering of an SI request procedure, wherein the stored SI blocks of OSI are associated with at least a system information area identifier (SAID) and a system information configuration index (SCI).

In an embodiment, the MSI includes a plurality of System Configuration Indices (SCIs) and system information area identifiers (SAIDs). Each SCI is associated with a configuration that is a respective SI block (SIB) available for OSI in the camped cell. The SAID defines the range of SI region validity for multiple SCIs.

In an embodiment, the SAID and the plurality of SCIs broadcasted in the MSI are at least one of a single identifier and a separate identifier that conveys a configuration of a corresponding SI block (SIB) and an SI area validity range.

In an embodiment, the MSI comprises at least: downlink (DL) system bandwidth information, a System Frame Number (SFN), a public land mobile network identifier (PLMN-ID) list, a Tracking Area Code (TAC), a global cell identifier, a transmission reception point identifier (TRP-ID), a TRP-group ID, a system information area identifier (SAID), a cell barring status, a configuration including resources for requesting one or more SI blocks of OSI provided on an as-needed basis, scheduling information related to an SI window for receiving the one or more SI blocks of OSI, an enhanced physical downlink control channel (ePDCCH) configuration, a cell selection parameter for camping, a random access parameter, a plurality of indicators, and a plurality of System Configuration Indices (SCIs).

In an embodiment, monitoring the paging channel includes determining whether at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell is expected to be updated.

In an embodiment, at least one of the following is checked: a system information change indicator included in the paging message, a plurality of SCIs associated with the updated SI block included in the paging message, and a system information area identifier (SAID) included in the paging message.

In an embodiment, the update of the configuration of the at least one SI block is determined based on the presence of a system information change indicator in the paging message, wherein the system information change indicator comprises at least one of: a single bit indicating at least one SI block available in the cell that is expected to be updated, and a bitmap indicating which SI block available in the cell is expected to be updated.

In an embodiment, the update of the configuration of the at least one SI block is determined based on the presence of multiple SCIs in the paging message, wherein whether the SCI associated with the SI block in the paging message is different from the SCI of the corresponding SI block previously acquired from the MSI in the camped cell.

In an embodiment, the update of the configuration of the at least one SI block is determined based on the presence of an SAID in the paging message, wherein the SAID in the paging message is different from a SAID previously acquired from the MSI in the camped cell.

In an embodiment, at least one of a system information change indicator and a plurality of SCIs included in the paging message is transmitted in a current system modification interval indicating that a configuration corresponding to at least one SI block is updated from a start of a next system modification interval.

Embodiments herein disclose a method for providing SI by a base station in a wireless communication system. The method is comprised of: a broadcast channel is transmitted to at least one UE in a wireless communication system. The broadcast channel periodically transmits Minimum System Information (MSI) including at least the first MIB and the second MIB. Further, the method comprises: providing Other System Information (OSI) to at least a UE in a wireless communication system based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis, wherein on-demand delivery of at least one SI block of the Other System Information (OSI) is based on a SI request procedure triggered by the at least one UE. Further, an on-demand basis for delivering at least one SI block of OSI available in the camped cell is decided based on at least one of an indication and a flag included in the MSI for the SI block. Further, the method includes transmitting a paging message on a paging channel to indicate to at least one UE that at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell is expected to be updated.

Embodiments herein disclose a User Equipment (UE) for providing SI in a wireless communication system. The UE is configured to decode a broadcast channel to obtain MSI periodically transmitted by the base station. Further, the UE is configured to store the MSI and apply at least one cell selection parameter indicated in the MSI to camp on a cell served by the base station. Further, the UE is configured to access the camped cell based on at least one random access parameter indicated in the MSI. Further, the UE is configured to determine whether to provide at least one of Other System Information (OSI) SI blocks available in the camped cell based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis. Further, the UE is configured to monitor a paging channel to receive a paging message to determine whether at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell is expected to be updated.

Embodiments herein disclose a base station for providing SI in a wireless communication system. The base station is configured to transmit a broadcast channel to at least one User Equipment (UE). The broadcast channel periodically transmits Minimum System Information (MSI) including at least the first MIB and the second MIB. Further, the base station is configured to provide OSI to at least one UE in the wireless communication system based on at least one of periodic broadcast and on-demand basis; wherein the on-demand delivery of at least one SI block of the OSI is based on an SI request procedure triggered by at least one UE. Further, the base station is configured to: deciding to deliver at least one SI block of an OSI available in a camped cell on an on-demand basis based on at least one of an indication and a flag included in the MSI for the SI block. Further, the base station is configured to transmit a paging message on a paging channel to indicate to the at least one UE that it is desired to update at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell.

Embodiments herein disclose a system for providing SI in a wireless communication system. The system includes a base station configured to transmit a broadcast channel to at least one UE. The UE is configured to decode a broadcast channel to obtain MSI periodically transmitted by the base station. Further, the UE is configured to store the MSI and apply at least one cell selection parameter indicated in the MSI to camp on a cell served by the base station. Further, the UE is configured to access the camped cell based on the at least one random access parameter indicated in the MSI. Further, the UE is configured to determine whether to provide at least one of SI blocks of Other System Information (OSI) available in the camped cell based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis. Further, the base station is configured to decide to deliver at least one SI block of an OSI available in the camped cell on an on-demand basis based on at least one of an indication and a flag included in the MSI for the SI block. Further, the UE is configured to monitor a paging channel to receive a paging message to determine whether updating of at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell is expected.

Modes for carrying out the invention

This application claims the benefit of an indian provisional patent application with assigned serial number 201641025194 filed at indian patent office on day 22/7/2016 and an indian full patent application with assigned serial number 201641025194 filed on day 20/7/2017, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The embodiments herein and the various features and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with reference to the non-limiting embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and detailed in the following description. Descriptions of well-known components and processing techniques are omitted so as to not unnecessarily obscure the embodiments herein. Furthermore, the various embodiments described herein are not necessarily mutually exclusive, as some embodiments may be combined with one or more other embodiments to form new embodiments. The term "or" as used herein refers to a non-exclusive or unless otherwise indicated. The examples used herein are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which the embodiments herein may be practiced and to further enable those of skill in the art to practice the embodiments herein. Accordingly, these examples should not be construed as limiting the scope of the examples herein.

Embodiments may be described and illustrated in terms of blocks performing one or more of the described functions, as is conventional in the art. These blocks, which may be referred to herein as units or modules, and the like, are physically implemented by analog or digital circuits, such as logic gates, integrated circuits, microprocessors, microcontrollers, memory circuits, passive electronic components, active electronic components, optical components, hardwired circuits, and the like, and may optionally be driven by firmware and software. The circuitry may be embodied, for example, in one or more semiconductor chips, or on a substrate support such as a printed circuit board or the like. The circuitry making up the blocks may be implemented by dedicated hardware, or by a processor (e.g., one or more programmed microprocessors and associated circuitry), or by a combination of dedicated hardware for performing some of the functions of the blocks and a processor for performing other functions of the blocks. Each block of an embodiment may be physically separated into two or more interacting and discrete blocks without departing from the scope of the invention. Also, the blocks of an embodiment may be physically combined into more complex blocks without departing from the scope of the invention.

Throughout the description, the terms base station, eNode-b (enb), eNode-b (gnb), RAN, and NW are used interchangeably. Throughout the present invention, the terms UE and mobile station are used interchangeably. Throughout the present invention, the terms changed SI, updated SI and modified SI are used interchangeably.

The accompanying drawings are provided to facilitate an easy understanding of various technical features, and it should be understood that embodiments presented herein are not limited by the accompanying drawings. Thus, the disclosure should be construed as extending to any modifications, equivalents, and alternatives except those specifically set forth in the drawings. Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are generally only used to distinguish one element from another.

Accordingly, embodiments herein enable a method for providing SI to a UE in a wireless communication system. The method includes decoding a broadcast channel to obtain Minimum System Information (MSI) periodically transmitted by a base station. Further, the method includes storing the MSI and applying at least one cell selection parameter indicated in the MSI to camp on a cell served by the base station. Further, the method includes accessing the camped cell based on the at least one random access parameter indicated in the MSI. Further, the method includes determining whether to provide at least one of SI blocks of Other System Information (OSI) available in the camped cell based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis. An on-demand basis for delivering the SI blocks of OSIs available in the camped cell is decided based on at least one of an indication and a flag included in the MSI for the SI blocks. Further, the method includes monitoring a paging channel to receive a paging message to determine whether updating of at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell is expected.

In an embodiment, the periodically broadcasted Minimum System Information (MSI) comprises at least: DL system bandwidth, System Frame Number (SFN), public land mobile network identifier (PLMN-ID) list, Tracking Area Code (TAC), global cell identifier, transmission reception point identifier (TRP-ID), TRP-group ID, system information area identifier (area ID/SAID), cell Barring status (i.e. parameters for Access Control Barring (ACB)), configuration of resources including one or more SI blocks for requesting Other System Information (OSI) delivered on an as needed basis, scheduling information related to System Information (SI) windows for receiving one or more SI blocks of OSI, ePDCCH configuration, parameters for camping (i.e. cell selection/cell reselection), random Access parameters, multiple indicators, and multiple System Configuration Indices (SCIs).

In an embodiment, the minimum system information is sent in at least one system information block called a Master Information Block (MIB).

In an embodiment, the System Configuration index or System Configuration Identifier (SCI) is an index/Identifier associated with an SI block (SIB) that includes a set of System information parameters and corresponding parameter values provided by the network upon request by the UE.

In an embodiment, a system configuration index or System Configuration Identifier (SCI) is an index/identifier associated with a configuration of SI blocks (SIBs), where the configuration includes a set of system information parameters and corresponding parameter values.

The plurality of indicators broadcast on the PBCH and/or SBCH include at least one or more of: other SI (Other SI, OSI) broadcast indications/flags indicating whether the cell is broadcasting Other System Information (OSI), a plurality of SCIs associated with the configuration of each SI block (SIB) provided in the Other system information, a linked system information area identifier (area Id/SAID) defining an SI area validity range and pointing to an area Id and an SCI provided in the Other system information, a common value tag (i.e. a counter indicating that at least one system information block configuration provided in the Other SI has changed or updated) and one or more separate value tags (i.e. a counter associated with the change or update of the configuration of the corresponding SI block provided in the Other SI), and a validity flag indicating whether the system information that has been acquired and stored is still valid.

In an embodiment, an Other SI (OSI) broadcast indication/flag sent in Minimum System Information (MSI) indicates whether the cell is to periodically broadcast at least one SI block (SIB) of Other System Information (OSI) or to provide the at least one SI block (SIB) on an as-needed basis.

In an embodiment, multiple SCIs are broadcast in Minimum System Information (MSI) on the PBCH/SBCH, where each SCI is associated with a configuration of a corresponding SI block provided in other system information.

In an embodiment, a system information area identifier (area Id/SAID) is broadcast in the Minimum System Information (MSI) on the PBCH/SBCH, where the area Id/SAID points to a link of the area Id and the plurality of SCIs, i.e. the area Id/SAID defines the SI area validity range of the plurality of SCIs.

In an embodiment, the stored SI blocks of the OSI are associated with at least a system information area identifier (SAID) and a system information configuration index (SCI).

In an embodiment, a common value tag (i.e., counter) is broadcast in the minimum system information on the PBCH/SBCH indicating that at least one System Information Block (SIB) provided in the other SIs has been changed or updated.

In an embodiment, separate value tags (i.e., counters) are broadcast in the minimum system information on the PBCH/SBCH, where each separate value tag is associated with a change or update of a corresponding SI block (SIB) provided in other SIs.

In an embodiment, an SIT invalid flag is broadcast in the minimum system information on the PBCH/SBCH, which indicates that the acquired and stored system information is invalid if TRUE is set, and the UE needs to clear all stored system information and acquire an updated SIT.

In an embodiment, the SCI associated with each System Information Block (SIB) is included in the common part of the paging message.

In an embodiment, the SCI associated with each system information block is included in the common part of the paging message when it is desired to update or change or modify the corresponding SI block.

In an embodiment, the SCI and corresponding value tag associated with each system information block are included in a common part of the paging message.

In an embodiment, a system information area identifier (area Id/SAID) is included in a common portion of the paging message.

In an embodiment, the area Id/SAID and SCI associated with each system information block are both included in a common part of the paging message.

In an embodiment, the SI block type of the SI block is included in a common part of the paging message.

In an embodiment, the SI block type and associated SCI are included in a common part of the paging message.

In an embodiment, when it is desired to update or change or modify the corresponding SI block, at least one of the following is included in the paging message: a system information change indication, one or more SCIs associated with a System Information Block (SIB), one or more SI block types, and an area Id/SAID.

In an embodiment, a system information change indicator included in a common portion of a paging message is sent in a current system modification interval indicating that a configuration associated with one or more system information blocks is to be changed, updated or modified from the beginning of a next system modification interval.

In an embodiment, at least one of a system information change indication, a region Id/SAID, and one or more SCIs associated with system information is included in (e) PDCCH indicating a paging message, i.e., DCI of (e) PDCCH masked/addressed with P-RNTI.

Due to the availability of a large amount of spectral bandwidth, next generation wireless cellular operations are expected to be deployed at higher frequencies above 6GHz (e.g., 10 GHz-100 GHz, also known as millimeter waves and/or centimeter waves). The physical layer of the wireless cellular system in both Downlink (DL) and Uplink (UL) operating in mm/cm waves will be based on a new air interface different from the LTE-a air interface because the radio characteristics of the mm/cm wave band are different. Next generation wireless systems deployed in mm/cm systems expect to employ DL beam scanning for broadcast information to provide cell coverage to UEs, which results in excessive signaling overhead. The present disclosure covers system information acquisition aspects of User Equipment (UE) in such future wireless systems with design requirements to minimize broadcast control and reduce broadcast signaling overhead.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to FIGS. 1 through 10b, there is shown a preferred embodiment.

Fig. 1 is an example illustration of a deployment of Radio Access Networks (RANs) of a next generation wireless system 100 according to an embodiment as disclosed herein.

In an embodiment, the next generation wireless system 100 includes a Gateway (GW) 101, a set of UEs 102a, 102b, 102c, 102x, 102y, and 102z (hereinafter, the UE's label is 102), a set of

5G enbs

103a and 103b (hereinafter, the 5G eNB's label is 103), a set of

cells

104a and 104b (hereinafter, the cell's label is 104), and a set of Transmission Reception Points (TRPs) 105a, 105b, 105x, and 105y (hereinafter, the TRPs label is 105).

UEs 102 a-102 c and 102 x-102 z may be dispersed throughout the next generation wireless system, and each UE 102 may be stationary or mobile. The UE 102 may also include or be referred to by those skilled in the art as: a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset (handset), a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.

The UE 102 may be, for example, but not limited to, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) converter, a wireless router, and the like.

The 5G eNB 103 may also include or be referred to by those skilled in the art as: a base station, a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB (eNB or gNB), or some other suitable terminology.

The gateway 101 may be connected to a 5G eNB 103 for handling frequency carrier(s) in the cell coverage area. One 5G eNB 103 may be connected to more than one GW 101. Within the coverage of 5G eNB 1103 a and 5G eNB 2103 b, multiple UEs 102 support multiple RAT functions (e.g., GSM, UMTS, LTE), and next generation RAT functions (NR/5G) are served by one or more cells 104. Regardless of the UE support type, each UE 102 may access at least one carrier based on a next generation RAT (NR/5G).

In an embodiment, the 5G eNB 103 is configured to transmit a broadcast channel to at least one of the UEs 102. UE 102 is configured to decode the broadcast channel to obtain MSI periodically transmitted by 5G eNB 103. Further, UE 102 is configured to store the MSI and apply at least one cell selection parameter indicated in the MSI to camp on a cell 104 served by 5G eNB 103. Further, the UE 102 is configured to access the camped cell 104 based on at least one random access parameter indicated in the MSI. Further, the UE 102 is configured to determine whether to provide at least one of the SI blocks of Other System Information (OSI) available in the camped cell 104 based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis.

Further, the next generation wireless cellular system includes a cell 104a composed of a set of Transmission and Reception Points (TRPs) 105. The fronthaul (frontaul) between the 5G eNB 103a node and the TRP 105 may be ideal or non-ideal. The TRP 105 of one 5G cell 104a controlled by the 5G eNB 103 will be used to provide the DL coverage beam. Furthermore, it seems reasonable to assume that all TRPs belonging to the same cell are "time synchronized", i.e. the same radio frame and System Frame Number (SFN) timing (timing). However, in some embodiments, the TRP may not be time synchronized. IMT-advanced radio frame duration is 10ms and SFN ranges from 0-1023. Assume the numerology of the next generation RAT such that the IMT-advanced radio frame is a multiple of the next generation RAT radio frame, or the next generation RAT radio frame is exactly 10 ms. Thus, the SFN range for the next generation RAT is 0-1023 or a multiple of the IMT-advanced SFN range. This is necessary to support the coexistence of the next generation RAT and the IMT-advanced RAT. This is also required to support non-standalone deployment of next generation wireless systems, where the IMT-advanced RAT acts as a mobility and RRC connection anchor (anchor). It is expected that initial deployment of next generation wireless systems operating in the millimeter wave/centimeter wave band will operate as non-standalone systems to provide additional radio resources to UEs 102 that will connect to IMT advanced or previous generation systems for coverage purposes. Assuming that the next Generation wireless system will be added as a capacity layer to existing IMT-advanced deployments, from an initial standardization phase perspective, the RAN architecture will be based on mechanisms similar to the Carrier Aggregation (CA) or Dual-Connectivity (DC) framework specified by the third Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP).

The maximum number "p" of DL coverage beams will typically depend on the frequency used; that is, "p" may be larger in the higher frequency band due to the smaller antenna spacing at TRP 105 of 5G eNB 103. The cells 104 of the next generation wireless system are identified by a physical Cell Identifier (i.e., PCI). The UE 102 may obtain the PCI from a Synchronization Signal (SS) transmitted by the 5G cell 104 of the next generation RAT. The cells 104 of the next generation wireless system are uniquely identified by a global cell identifier (i.e., global cell ID). The UE 102 may obtain the global cell Id from the minimum system information periodically broadcast on the PBCH by the 5G cell 104.

A UE 102 supporting a legacy RAT, an IMT-advanced RAT, and a next generation RAT (i.e., NR/5G/IMT 2020) may or may not be aware of the TRP 105 of the next generation wireless system. The TRPs operate together to provide a beam to UE 102 and the concept of TRP 105 is visible to UE 102. Thus, there is a "TRP Identifier (TRP Identifier, TRP-Id)" provided to the UE 102 over the radio of the next generation RAT.

Furthermore, UE 102a knows cell 104a of 5G eNB 103, TRP 105, and the beam served by the respective TRP 105. The UE 102 should detect and decode the synchronization signal and PBCH to determine the PCI and TRP-Id, and also decode the Beam index sequence to determine the "Beam identifier" (Beam Id). Furthermore, two types of DL beams are considered: 1) a coverage beam and 2) a dedicated beam.

The coverage beams transmitted by the TRP 105 under the control of the 5G eNB 103 provide a fixed set of directional coverage beams, also referred to as a "beam grid," for the coverage of the cells 104 of the next generation system. The coverage beams cover a relatively wide area and therefore can only support relatively low data rates. For example, in cell 104a, less than 10 DL cover beams and more than 10 dedicated beams may be transmitted by each TRP 105. As an example, each DL coverage beam from a respective TRP 105 may cover a fan angle of 30-60 degrees such that the grid of coverage beams covers a circular area of 100 and 250m radius. Each coverage beam is identified by a beam Id. The coverage beam transmits Synchronization Signals (SS), PBCH, and reference signals for beam signal strength measurement. These Reference signals are generally called Beam Reference Signal (BRS) and are used for Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements. The overlay beam is used to transmit DL common Channel signaling, such as a RACH (Random Access Channel) response. The coverage beam carries a control Channel transmission, such as an enhanced Physical Downlink control Channel (ePDCCH), and when the dedicated beam to the UE 102 has been lost, a user data Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) is transmitted on the coverage beam. For Demodulation purposes, when the ePDCCH/PDSCH is transmitted on the overlaid beam, a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) is also transmitted. Dedicated transmissions (ePDCCH/PDSCH) towards the UE 102 may potentially use even more directional and sharper beams (e.g., UE-specific precoding) on so-called "dedicated beams". The coverage area of the dedicated beam is much smaller in beamwidth than the coverage beam (e.g., 1/2, 1/4, or 1/8 covering the beamwidth).

Further, dedicated beams are managed based on UE measurements on Channel-State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), and the UE 102 provides CSI feedback at the PHY or MAC layer. This is called beam management. DMRS is also transmitted on the dedicated beam in order to demodulate ePDCCH/PDSCH carried on the dedicated beam. Since the UE 102 only sees DMRS type reference signals from the cells 104 of the next generation system, the concept of coverage beams and dedicated beams is transparent to the UE 102 from the PDSCH reception perspective. However, the concept of a coverage beam is known to the UE 102 for reception of synchronization signals and BRS measurements. Thus, when the TRP of the 5G eNB 103a detects, based on the CSI-RS measurement feedback, that the UE 102 has lost the dedicated beam, and that the UE 102 is scheduled with data on the coverage beam, the UE 102 will not know whether the transmission is from the coverage beam. To the UE 102, this looks like any other transmission from the dedicated beam. The cell-edge bit rate on the coverage beam will be much lower than that achievable with the dedicated beam. UE transmissions in the UL may also be made on UL beams. However, considering the UE size and the number of antennas at the UE 102, the number of UL beams is expected to be less than the number of DL beams.

The 5G cell parameters (i.e., system information) of the cell-specific next generation RAT include: DL/UL bandwidth, TDD configuration, PRACH configuration, PDSCH configuration, Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) configuration, PUSCH configuration, Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) configuration, UL power Control configuration (i.e. common radio resource configuration) and MAC configuration, RLC configuration, PDCP configuration (i.e. user plane configuration or dedicated radio resource configuration), etc.

The system information including the L1/L2 configuration (i.e., both the common radio resource configuration and the dedicated radio resource configuration) is generally referred to as radio resource configuration information, which needs to be provided to the UE 102 for communication with the 5G eNB 102. Furthermore, for beam mobility or beam management purposes, it is desirable to provide the UE 102 with DL beam mobility Measurement configurations including CSI-RS processing directed to CSI-RS Resource configurations including Non-Zero Power (NZP), Zero Power (ZP), and Interference Measurement Resource (IMR) resources.

Based on the CSI-RS configuration, the UE 102 in the connected mode should monitor NZP and IMR resources to perform CSI measurements on the resources configured for the UE 102, the CSI measurements including at least Channel Quality Indicator (CQI), Rank Indicator (RI), Precoding Matrix Index (PMI), CSI-RS RSRP (Reference Signal Reception Power) measurements. There is also a need to provide the UE 102 with intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-RAT configurations to support idle mode mobility. For simplicity, the terms PRACH, Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), and SRS are used for the physical channels of the next generation RAT or IMT 2020 system so that one of ordinary skill in the IMT-advanced system can associate with the terms used in the IMT-advanced system.

Next generation wireless systems need to provide UEs 102 with cell-specific parameters for accessing cells, L1/L2 configurations (i.e., radio resource configurations (i.e., both common and dedicated), and other configurations for idle mode mobility. Conventionally, in conventional wireless systems, these parameters are periodically broadcast in the form of one or more System Information Blocks (SIBs) in the cell coverage area, in addition to a Master Information Block (MIB). Upon acquiring the MIB and SIBs related to cell access and idle mode mobility, the UE may camp on a cell and then start initial access on the camped cell. Table 1 shows MIB/SIBs broadcasted in LTE and the purpose of each SIB service.

[ Table 1]

MIB/SIB	The main purpose is	MIB/SIB	The main purpose is
				MIB	Cell access	SIB 10	ETWS
SIB
	1	Cell access	SIB 11	ETWS
SIB
	2	Radio resource allocation	SIB 12	CMAS
SIB
	3	Cell reselection	SIB 13	MBSFN
SIB
	4	Intra-frequency cell reselection	SIB 14	EAB
SIB
	5	Inter-frequency cell reselection	SIB 15	MBMS SAI List
SIB
	6	inter-RAT reselection UMTS	SIB 16	GPS/UTC time
SIB 7					inter-RAT reselection of GERAN	SIB 17	WLAN
	SIB 8	inter-RAT reselection CMDA2000	SIB 18	D2D communication
SIB
	9	Home eNB name	SIB 19	D2D finding

For example, considering that there are 4 DL coverage beams, a MIB transmission with the same periodicity as LTE (i.e. 40ms) and repetition of each radio frame using 4 DL coverage beams is shown in fig. 2 a. In a subframe, the MIB is transmitted using different DL coverage beams in different sets of OFDM symbols. The repeated SIB1 transmission in alternate radio frames with the same periodicity as LTE (i.e. 80ms) and using 4 DL coverage beams is shown in fig. 2 b. In each radio frame for SIB1 transmission, a PDCCH indicating PDSCH resources for SIB1 and a PDSCH carrying SIB1 are transmitted multiple times using different DL coverage beams in different subframes.

In embodiments, millimeter wave/centimeter wave bands are considered a common scenario for deploying next generation RATs, and therefore radio characteristics in these bands are employed to describe the process. However, in practical deployments, the air interface of next generation wireless cellular systems may be applied even below the 6GHz or 10GHz band, and thus the applicability of next generation RATs and procedures disclosed in this disclosure should not be considered strictly limited to the millimeter wave/centimeter wave band. Since the radio characteristics are different for frequencies in the millimeter wave/centimeter wave frequency band compared to frequencies in the sub (sub)6GHz band, it is also expected that next generation wireless cellular systems will have natural (native) support for beamforming techniques for broadcast and unicast transmission towards the UE 102 to overcome the short propagation distance of radio signals at millimeter wave/centimeter wave frequencies.

Fig. 2a is a schematic illustration of MIB transmission with the same periodicity as in LTE (i.e. 40ms) and repetition of each radio frame using 4 DL coverage beams. Figure 2b is a schematic illustration of SIB1 transmissions with the same periodicity as in LTE (i.e. 80ms) and repeated in alternate radio frames using 4 DL coverage beams.

Fig. 2a and 2b depict that the overhead (time/frequency resources) of transmitting only MIB and SIB1 using beamforming is P times that of MIB/SIB1 without beamforming. "P" is the number of DL transmission beams. The transmission resources remaining after system information (i.e., MIB/SIB1) consumes resources may be used only for data scheduling for the user of UE 102 in the DL transmit beam direction. Thus, if more time/frequency resources are consumed by the system information due to beam scanning, user data scheduling becomes limited and inflexible. In the case of the SIB1 message, PDCCH overhead is also increased P times, since PDCCH is also transmitted using beamforming. Resource restriction and signaling overhead issues may also apply to other SI messages. For SI messages, the SI window size is also increased by P times, resulting in an increased UE 102 wake-up time.

In the system 100, the other problem is energy efficiency without beamforming (typically at low frequencies). According to the release 13 specification, 19 SIBs are supported. Basic LTE operation requires only few SIBs, while other SIBs are used for specific functions (e.g., interworking with WLAN, D2D, MBMS, etc.) or specific RATs (GERAN, UTRA, CDMA 2000). These SIBs are broadcast periodically and are not necessary in the following scenarios: i) if all UEs 102a to 102c in a cell 104a have read the required system information and no new UE is entering the cell 104a at the periodicity of sending the system information, the periodic broadcast of the system information in the cell 104a is unnecessary and may lead to resource waste and energy consumption; ii) if there are no UEs in the cell 104a interested in a particular service, then periodic broadcast of service specific system information in that cell 104a is unnecessary and can result in wasted resources and energy consumption. For example, if there are no UEs in cell 104a interested in D2D service, then cell 104a broadcasting SIB 18/SIB 19 is unnecessary.

One of the requirements for the next generation RAT is energy efficiency; therefore, the design of system information provision needs to address energy efficiency requirements to minimize periodic broadcasts that are always on. Another aspect related to the broadcast of system information is high signaling overhead in the context of next generation RAT operation in higher frequency bands (above 10GHz), where DL beam scanning operations inevitably reach the coverage area of the cell 104. Broadcasting all SIBs on coverage beams that are limited to DL beam scanning may result in excessive signaling overhead and resource limitations. Therefore, another design criterion for system information provision needs to address issues in terms of signaling overhead. There may be several mechanisms to reduce system overhead. For example, to reduce system overhead, basic system information such as SFN, system BW, cell access parameters, etc., may be broadcast periodically on PBCH, while Other System Information (OSI) may be signaled specifically or may be broadcast based on a request from the UE 102.

Fig. 3 is an example scenario 300 of broadcasting a Primary Broadcast Channel (PBCH) from cells 104 of a next generation wireless system 100 according to an embodiment as disclosed herein.

For the standalone mode of operation, a frequency agnostic default PBCH cycle (cycle) may be specified in the 3GPP specifications. For example, the default PBCH cycle (310a, 310b, 310c, etc.) may be designated as 20 or 40 ms. PBCH transmissions are limited to DL beam scanning over multiple DL coverage beams in order to reach UEs 102a to 102c in the entire cell coverage area. The PBCH carries physical Synchronization Signals (SSs) (i.e., primary and secondary SSs), a Master Information Block (MIB), and Beam Reference Signals (BRSs) distributed in the frequency domain. During each synchronization signal period (period) (350), the UE 102 blindly detects (blinddetect) the PBCH. Since the PBCH period includes the physical synchronization signal, the DL beam scanning period (320a, 320b, 320c, etc.) (i.e., including one burst of PBCH) is aligned with the beginning of the radio frame of cell 104. During a DL beam scanning period (320a, 320b, 320c, etc.), i.e., during a burst, a plurality of DL coverage beams (340a, 340b, 340c … 340y, 340z) comprising blocks containing the PSS/SSS, MIB and BRS are transmitted time-sequentially in different directions to provide coverage to the UEs 102 a-10 c in the area covered by the scanning beams. The PBCH is transmitted during a synchronization signal period (350), which synchronization signal period (350) may or may not cover all OFDM symbols within a Transmission Time Interval (TTI) of the next generation RAT, depending on the exact physical layer design.

The synchronization signal period (350) (i.e., block) includes a plurality of OFDM symbols of the next generation RAT and covers at least a minimum bandwidth consisting of a plurality of subcarriers of the next generation RAT required to transmit the synchronization signal (351), the beam index sequence (352), the Master Information Block (MIB) (353), and the Beam Reference Signal (BRS) (354). The synchronization signals (351) include at least a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), and a beam index sequence (352). During a PBCH period or synchronization signal period (350) (i.e., bursts limited to beamforming logic associated with DL beam index #1(340 a)), blocks, i.e., PSS/SSS (351), beam index sequence (352), and MIB (353), are transmitted over multiple OFDM symbols and multiple subcarriers. The block containing the PSS/SSS (351), MIB (353), beam index sequence (352), and BRS (354) may be transmitted as a single burst (320a) or set of bursts (320aa, 320aaa, etc.). Thus, the PBCH cycle (310a, 310b, 310c, etc.) indicates the periodicity of the PBCH or the periodicity of the set of SS bursts. The MIB (353) transmission may be repeated several times within the PBCH cycle (310 a). The NW may provide a configurable PBCH cycle in addition to the default PBCH cycle, however all cells on the same frequency have the same PBCH cycle. The beam index sequence (352) indicates DL beam index # 1. In the next synchronization period (350), the PSS/SSS (351), the beam index sequence (352) indicating DL beam index #2 and the MIB (353) are transmitted over a plurality of OFDM symbols and a plurality of subcarriers restricted to the beamforming logic associated with DL beam index #2(340 b). This is referred to as DL beam scanning on PBCH, where PSS/SSS (351), beam index sequence (352) indicating DL beam index # M, and MIB (353) are transmitted on multiple OFDM symbols and multiple subcarriers in the mth PBCH period or synchronization period (350) limited by the beamforming logic associated with DL beam index # M (340z), based on blind decoding of PSS/SSS (351) and beam index sequence (352), UE 102 determines a Physical Cell Identity (PCI) or Cell Id and timing compensation to be applied to determine the radio frame boundary of the Cell 104 transmitting the synchronization signal. The beam reference signal, BRS (354), is a reference signal transmitted over a plurality of OFDM symbols and a plurality of subcarriers that do not include resources occupied by the PSS/SSS (351) and the beam index sequence (352).

Further, the resources used to transmit the BRS (354) on DL beam index # m depend on the PCI and DL beam index of the cell 104. The BRS (354) is transmitted during a synchronization period (350) that is limited by corresponding beamforming logic associated with the DL beam index # m. In fig. 3, the first beam during a DL beam scanning period is depicted as DL beam index #1, and temporally subsequent beams are depicted as DL beam index #2, and so on. This depiction should not be considered a limiting scenario, as the starting beam may be any beam uniquely identified by a beam index sequence limited to the number of maintaining beam sequences and identical beams during a DL beam scan. In an example, the starting beam may be DL beam index #11 followed by DL beam index #12 while keeping the number of beams during the DL beam sweep period equal to M

After decoding the PSS/SSS (351) and the beam index sequence (352), the UE 203 starts to know the PCI and DL beam indices; and therefore knows the resources on which measurements can be performed at the physical layer on the BRS. These measurements indicate an estimate of the signal strength of beam index # m and are reported to higher layers for cell mobility evaluation. In general, these measurements are referred to as BRS Reference Signal Received Power (BRS _ RSRP) and BRS Reference Signal Received Quality (BRS _ RSRQ) that provide an estimate of the Signal strength on the receive beam from the cell 104 detected by the UE 102. For a standalone mode of operation in which the UE 102 needs to camp on a cell 104 of a next generation RAT, measurements of BRSs (i.e., BRS _ RSRP/BRS _ RSRQ) are used for idle mode mobility during cell selection and/or cell reselection.

Before camping on a cell 104 of a next generation RAT, the UE 102 blindly decodes the MIB (353), which contains at least the most basic or important parameters, namely Minimum System Information (MSI): DL system bandwidth, System Frame Number (SFN), PLMN-ID list, Tracking Area Code (TAC), global cell ID, TRP-group ID, area ID/SAID, cell barring status (i.e. parameters for Access Control Barring (ACB)), configuration including resources for requesting one or more SI blocks of OSI on an as needed basis, scheduling information related to SI window for receiving one or more SI blocks of OSI, ePDCCH configuration, parameters for camping (i.e. cell selection/cell reselection), random access parameters, multiple indicators and multiple system configuration indices or identifiers (SCIs). The MSI may be transmitted in at least one block, i.e., MIB (353), or distributed in a first MIB (353) and a second MIB (i.e., MIB #2, also referred to as SIB1) if MIB size is limited by physical layer design. The plurality of indicators may include a broadcast indicator/flag, a common value tag (i.e., a counter associated with a system information version) or a separate value tag (i.e., a counter associated with a version of each system information block), and a SIT invalid flag indicating whether the stored SIT is valid. When the flag is set to TRUE, there may also be a timer or counter (specified in seconds or radio frames) associated with the broadcast indicator/flag to indicate how long the network will broadcast other system information with reference to the beginning of the system modification interval.

Upon blind decoding of PBCH, the UE 102 determines radio frame boundaries, PCI, SFN, DL system bandwidth, best DL beam index, BRS resources for measurement, and configuration for requesting and receiving other system information. If the other SI broadcast indication/flag sent in the Minimum System Information (MSI) is not enabled (i.e., set to FALSE), the other system information is provided by the 5G eNB 103 upon request by the UE 102. It may not be possible to accommodate all of the most basic or important parameters, namely the MSI in the MIB (353). Depending on the overlay requirements and physical layer design of the MIB (353). If it is not possible to accommodate all the most basic or important parameters, i.e., MSI in one MIB, the parameters are distributed in two blocks, i.e., MIB #1 and MIB # 2. In this scenario, MIB #1(353) is transmitted on PBCH, while MIB #2 is transmitted on Secondary Broadcast Channel (SBCH). The SBCH may be a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH). MIB #2 is also referred to as System Information Block Type 1(SIB 1). In this scenario, the MSI includes a first master information block (MIB #1) and a second master information block (MIB #2), also referred to as SIB 1. MIB #1 transmitted on PBCH has a fixed size, while MIB #2 transmitted on SBCH/PDSCH (i.e., SIB1) has a variable size.

Similar to the default PBCH cycle, a frequency agnostic default SBCH cycle may be specified in the 3GPP specifications. Because the PBCH cycle (310a) may be configured in frequency, the SBCH period may also be configured in frequency. For example, if the PBCH cycle (310a, 310b, 310c, etc.) is 20ms, the SBCH cycle may be specified/configured to 40 or 80ms or some other value. The SBCH cycle may also be indicated in the PBCH, i.e. the scheduling information of MIB #2(SIB1) is included in the first MIB (MIB # 1). The scheduling information included in the first MIB (MIB #1) indicates at least one of periodicity of the second MIB (i.e., MIB #2/SIB1 transmitted on the SBCH) and absence of the second MIB (MIB #2/SIB1) when the second MIB (MIB #2/SIB1) is not transmitted on the SBCH. The scheduling information included in the first MIB also relates to resource information of a PDCCH that receives a PDSCH on which the second MIB is scheduled. In the example, it is assumed that the scheduling information related to MIB #2/SIB1 is indicated in MIB #1 as two bits, which will be represented by code points 00, 01, 10 and 11. In the example, code points 01, 10 and 11 indicate the SBCH cycle or MIB #2/SIB1 periodicity as 80ms, 160ms and 320ms, respectively. Code point 00 indicates that there is no MIB #2/SIB1 present, i.e., the cell does not broadcast MIB #2/SIB1 on the SBCH. When the scheduling information included in the first MIB (MIB #1) indicates that the second MIB (MIB #2/SIB1) is not present, then UE 102 considers cell 104 as barred because UE 102 cannot obtain the full contents of the MSI. In addition to the scheduling information, the first MIB includes a cell barring indicator, wherein if the cell barring indicator is set to TRUE, the UE 102 treats the cell 104 as barred regardless of the scheduling information indicating the presence of the second MIB. In the case of beamforming, PBCH and SBCH transmissions are limited to DL beam scanning over multiple DL coverage beams in order to reach UEs 102 a-102 c and 102 x-102 z in the entire cell coverage area. The time offset between PBCH and SBCH may be specified as a default offset or may be indicated in MIB #1 sent on PBCH when MIB and SIB1 are of the same period.

After determining the SFN, best DL beam index, SBCH cycle, and SBCH offset, the UE 102 may decode the SBCH at the determined best DL beam index to obtain MIB # 2. MIB #2 includes further parameters regarding camping and cell access. During the SBCH period, which is similar to the PBCH period, the SBCH is decoded by the UE 102. The DL beam scan period for transmitting the SBCH contains parameters for cell camping and cell access, and optionally the BRS. During the DL beam scan period of the SBCH, multiple DL coverage beams are transmitted in time-series in different directions to provide coverage to the UEs 102 a-102 c and 102 x-102 z in the area covered by the scanned beams. The number of beams used for PBCH and SBCH transmissions is the same. MIB #2 transmitted during the SBCH period may or may not cover all OFDM symbols within the TTI of the next generation RAT. The SBCH may be addressed on the ePDCCH by the SI-RNTI. The SBCH period consists of a plurality of OFDM symbols and a plurality of subcarriers of the next generation so that MIB #2 may appear in the minimum bandwidth of the entire DL system bandwidth or some other frequency resource. MIB #2 may contain at least: tracking Area Code (TAC), public land mobile network identifier (PLMN-ID) list, global cell identifier, transmission reception point identifier (TRP-ID), TRP-group ID, system information area identifier (SAID), cell barring status, configuration of resources including one or more SI blocks for requesting OSI delivered on an as needed basis, scheduling information related to SI window for receiving one or more SI blocks of OSI, ePDCCH configuration, parameters for camping (i.e. cell selection/cell reselection), random access parameters, multiple SCIs, etc.

In an embodiment, Minimum System Information (MSI) is broadcast on at least one of the PBCH and SBCH, wherein the MSI comprises at least one of a first master information block (MIB #1) and a second MIB (MIB #2) referred to as system information block type 1(SIB 1).

In an embodiment, a first MIB (MIB #1) is broadcast on the PBCH and a second MIB (MIB #2) (i.e., SIB1) is broadcast on the SBCH, where scheduling information for the SBCH (i.e., MIB #2/SIB1) is indicated in the first MIB (MIB # 1).

In an embodiment, the scheduling information included in the first MIB (MIB #1) indicates at least one of periodicity of the second MIB (MIB #2) (i.e., SIB1) transmitted on the SBCH and absence of the second MIB (MIB #2/SIB1) when the second MIB (MIB #2/SIB1) is not transmitted on the SBCH.

In an embodiment, if the scheduling information included in the first MIB (MIB #1) indicates that the second MIB (MIB #2/SIB1) is not present, the UE regards the cell as barred because the UE cannot obtain the entire contents of the Minimum System Information (MSI).

If most of the parameters are not directly visible on periodic broadcast, but are only provided upon request by the UE 102, a requirement may be made to limit the size of the broadcast information in next generation wireless systems employing beamforming. These include L1/L2 configurations, mobility measurement and reporting configurations, and specific service configurations like D2D services, MBMS services, etc. In an embodiment, the system configuration index or System Configuration Identifier (SCI) is an index/identifier associated with an SI block that includes a set of system information parameters and corresponding parameter values provided by the network upon request by the UE.

In an embodiment, the system configuration index or System Configuration Identifier (SCI) is an index/identifier associated with a configuration of SI blocks, wherein the configuration comprises a set of system information parameters and corresponding parameter values.

In the standalone operation mode of the next generation wireless system, MIB #2 is required to provide at least system information to enable UE 102 to perform initial random access, and transmit requests and receive responses to receive requested system information parameters.

In this disclosure, system information provided on an on-demand basis or based on the UE SI request procedure is referred to as "other system information" (OSI). The eNB 103 network may provide Other System Information (OSI) to the UE 102 by broadcast or via dedicated signaling. When eNB 103 receives an SI request from UE 102 to deliver OSI on an on-demand basis, if the network selects the broadcast option, the requested OSI is transmitted in the SI window according to the scheduling information of OSI indicated in the MSI. Since many UEs must obtain certain system information included in other system information, it may be more efficient to provide this information by broadcasting (e.g., ETWS, CMAS). However, UE-specific configurations like measurement configuration and reporting configuration may be provided in a dedicated manner.

In an embodiment, the UE monitors the respective SI windows of the OSI indicated by the scheduling information included in the MSI to obtain one or more SI blocks of the OSI available in the camped cell after triggering a SI request for on-demand delivery.

Based on these assumptions, with reference to the LTE MIB/SIB listed in table 1, it may be determined which information is related to information periodically broadcast in MIB #1 and MIB #2 on the PBCH and SBCH, respectively, and which information may be provided as other system information upon request by UE 102.

From the analysis of table 1, it seems good to exclude the SIBs 9, 10, 11, 12 that will be covered by MIB #1 and MIB #2, since this information can be provided to the UE 102 with dedicated signaling after the initial random access in the next generation RAT. It also seems reasonable to exclude SIBs 13, 15, 18 and 19, since MBMS and D2D are services applicable to a few UEs 102 interested in this service. Thus, if MBMS and D2D are intended to be provided by a next generation RAT, SIBs 13, 15, 18, and 19 may be provided to UE 102 with dedicated signaling. Therefore, it seems reasonable to put the analysis emphasis on the basic SIBs (i.e. access-related MIB/SIB (MIB, SIB1, 2, 14), and mobility-related SIB3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) to determine which parameter is related to the next generation RAT and then to determine whether this parameter can be broadcasted separately in MIB #1 and MIB #2, since this parameter changes dynamically, or can be provided as part of other system information upon UE request.

Many broadcast parameters seem to be less suitable to be covered by other system information. This is particularly true for parameters whose values will change dynamically. This relates to e.g. SFN, TAC, cell identifier, TRP-Id, TRP-group ID, area Id, access control parameters, SCI etc. Therefore, these parameters are periodically broadcast in MIB #1 or MIB #2 on PBCH or SBCH. Further, if the UE 102 meets the cell selection criteria, the UE 102 will need the PLMN identification and parameters for camping to decide whether to camp on the cell 104, and then start the process for requesting other system information on the camped cell 104. However, if the PLMN identity is covered by other system information, the UE 102 knows only after requesting other system information whether the cell 104 satisfying the cell selection criterion belongs to the primary PLMN of the UE 104. Therefore, the primary PLMN should be broadcast periodically on the PBCH/SBCH.

With further reference to table 1, any of the parameters therein, except the white and black lists present in SIB3, SIB4, and SIB5, do not appear to be location specific, and thus may be covered as part of other system information. In SIB6 and SIB7, there is no white list to signal, so any information in SIB6 does not appear to be location specific, so this information can be overwritten as part of other system information. In SIB8, the neighbor cell list may have the same problem as the white list in SIB4, and the forbidden parameters in SIB8 may require special handling due to frequent updates and thus may be covered by MIB #1 or MIB # 2. Table 2 is a summary of which system information parameters can be covered by MIB #1/MIB #2 and which parameters can be covered by other system information. The system information covered by the MIB #1/MIB #2 is referred to as "minimum system information".

[ Table 2]

Fig. 4a is a sequential flow diagram 400a illustrating a step-by-step process for providing SI to a UE 102 on an on-demand basis in a next generation wireless system according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

At step 401a of FIG. 4a, the 5G eNB 103 periodically broadcasts minimal system information (i.e., MIB #1/MIB #2) on the PBCH/SBCH.

In an embodiment, the periodically broadcasted minimum system information comprises at least one of: DL system bandwidth, System Frame Number (SFN), PLMN-ID list, Tracking Area Code (TAC), global cell ID, TRP-ID, cell barring status (i.e. parameters for Access Control Barring (ACB)), configuration of resources including one or more SI blocks for requesting OSI delivered on an as needed basis, scheduling information related to SI window for receiving one or more SI blocks of OSI, ePDCCH configuration, parameters for camping (i.e. cell selection/cell reselection), random access parameters, multiple indicators and multiple SCIs.

In an embodiment, Minimum System Information (MSI) is broadcast on at least one of the PBCH and SBCH, where the MSI includes at least one of MIB #1 and MIB #2 (i.e., SIB 1).

In an embodiment, the system configuration index or System Configuration Identifier (SCI) is an index/identifier associated with an SI block that includes a set of system information parameters and corresponding parameter values provided by the network upon request by the UE.

The plurality of indicators broadcast on the PBCH include at least: other SI broadcast indications/flags indicating whether a cell is broadcasting other system information or providing OSI using an on-demand basis, a plurality of SCIs associated with SI blocks provided in other system information, linked system information area identifiers (area Id/SAIDs) pointing to area ids and SCIs provided in other system information, a common value tag (i.e. a counter indicating that at least one system information block provided in other SIs has changed or updated) and one or more separate value tags (i.e. a counter associated with the change or update of the corresponding SI block provided in other SIs), and a validity flag indicating whether the system information that has been acquired and stored is still valid. Details regarding the various indicators described above are provided in this disclosure after the description of fig. 4a and 4 b.

At step 402a, after the UE 102 is powered on, the radio circuitry begins scanning radio frequencies to detect synchronization signals transmitted per PBCH cycle. In deployments where radio frequencies belong to the millimeter wave/centimeter wave band, PBCH is limited to beamforming techniques that include beam scanning operations. After detecting the synchronization signal and the beam index sequence, the UE 102 blindly decodes the PBCH on which the minimum system information is broadcast.

At step 403a, the UE 102 camps on the cell 104 based on at least the cell access parameters, the cell selection and PLMN selection parameters, and the cell barring parameters included in the minimum system information. The minimum system information is included in one Master Information Block (MIB) or distributed over two blocks, i.e., MIB #1 and MIB #2/SIB 1.

If distributed over MIB #1 and MIB #2/SIB1, MIB #1 is broadcast on PBCH and MIB #2/SIB1 is broadcast on SBCH. The SBCH cycle may also be indicated in the PBCH, i.e. the scheduling information of MIB #2 (i.e. SIB1) is included in the first MIB (MIB # 1). The scheduling information included in the first MIB (MIB #1) indicates at least one of periodicity of the second MIB (i.e., MIB #2/SIB1 transmitted on the SBCH) and absence of the second MIB (MIB #2/SIB1) when the second MIB (MIB #2/SIB1) is not transmitted on the SBCH. The UE stores the MSI acquired from MIB #1 and MIB # 2.

Further, at step 403a, the UE 102 determines resources to access the camped cell 104 based on configuration parameters for transmitting the SI request acquired from the minimum system information sent by the camped cell 104. The configuration parameters used to transmit the SI request include RACH preamble or resources. The configuration parameters for transmitting the SI request may also be indicated by the random access parameters included in the MSI. In the minimum SI, the eNB 103 also broadcasts one or more SCIs. Each SCI is associated to a configuration corresponding to an SI block, i.e. a set of system information parameters and corresponding parameter values applicable to SI blocks provided as other SIs.

Since the UE 102 is already powered on in step 402a, the UE 102 does not have any stored system information, and therefore the UE 102 does not know the meaning of the one or more SCIs acquired from the MSI. Prior to initiating an SI request to acquire system information parameters associated with one or more SCI values acquired from an MSI, UE 102 checks the status of other SI broadcast indicators/flags acquired from minimum system information at step 404 a. A broadcast indicator may be used for each system information block or set of system information blocks. A bitmap may be used to indicate broadcast indicators, where each bit in the bitmap is a broadcast indicator for a particular system information block or set of system information blocks. The broadcast indicator may be a common indicator for all system information blocks.

For example, if the flag is set to FALSE, which means that the network is not broadcasting other SIs (or delivering a system information block or set of system information blocks on an as-needed basis), the UE 102 is required to initiate a procedure to request other SIs. The indicator/flag may be referred to as other SI broadcast indicator or as SI on demand indicator. If the indicator is referred to as other SI broadcast indicator/flag, setting the flag to FALSE indicates that other SI blocks are sent at the request of the UE. Alternatively, if the indicator is referred to as an on-demand SI indicator/flag, setting the flag to TRUE indicates that other SI blocks are transmitted at the request of the UE. The procedures or steps in fig. 4a and 4b are explained and embodiments formulated taking into account terminology like other SI broadcast indicators/flags should not be seen as limiting cases to implement other SI delivery concepts on demand.

At step 405a, the UE 102 transmits SI requests for other SIs (i.e., one or more SI blocks) based on the configuration parameters and the resources configured for cell access. The request-response process as shown in fig. 4a may be a two-step process, or may include more than two steps (e.g., 4 steps). In the simplest form, the request will be in the form of a preamble or some form of physical layer signal sent on the PRACH resource. The configuration parameters used in the MSI to transmit the SI request include the RACH preamble or PRACH resources or some form of well-defined physical layer signal. The eNB 103 detects the transmitted preamble or performs energy detection to identify that the UE 102 has transmitted a request for other SIs. If the request-response is a two-step procedure, the eNB 103 provides the UE 102 with further system information at step 406a, otherwise if the procedure involves more than two steps, the eNB 103 provides the UE 102 with an uplink grant. The eNB 103 temporarily broadcasts the requested other system information or provides the other system information to the UE 102 in a unicast manner (i.e., dedicated UE-specific signaling manner). When the network receives a request from UE 102 for an on-demand basis for OSI delivery, if the network selects the broadcast option, the requested OSI is sent in a System Information (SI) window according to scheduling information for the OSI indicated in the MSI. After transmitting the SI request, the network may reply with an acknowledgement for receiving the SI request. Upon receiving the acknowledgement, UE 102 monitors the respective SI window of the OSI indicated by the scheduling information included in the MSI to obtain one or more SI blocks of the OSI available in camped cell 104. If no acknowledgement is received, the UE 102 may resend the SI request.

At step 407a, after acquiring other system information, UE 102 applies the relevant configuration parameters according to the one or more SCIs acquired from the MSI. If the other system information includes a set of system information parameters and corresponding parameter values associated with the SCI in addition to the SCI broadcast by the camped cell, the UE 102 stores the configuration parameters as a configuration list associated with the corresponding SCI.

Further, at step 407a, the UE stores one or more SI blocks of OSI available in the camping cell acquired by the UE through the trigger request procedure; wherein the stored SI blocks of the OSI are associated with at least a system information area identifier (SAID) and a system information configuration index (SCI).

Fig. 4b is a sequential flow diagram 400b illustrating a step-by-step process for providing SI to a UE 102 in a next generation wireless system based on periodic broadcast information, according to an embodiment as disclosed herein.

The operation and process of steps 401b-403b is similar or substantially similar to steps 401a-403 a.

If, at step 404b, the UE 102 detects that the flag is set to TRUE (i.e., other SI broadcast indicator), which means that the network is periodically broadcasting other SIs, as shown in fig. 4b, the UE 102 is not required to initiate the SI request procedure to request other SIs. Furthermore, the UE 102 then monitors the PDCCH during the corresponding SI window of the OSI indicated by the scheduling information included in the MSI to check whether other system information is addressed by the SI-RNTI.

After acquiring other system information, the UE 102 applies the relevant configuration parameters according to the one or more SCIs acquired from the MSI, according to

steps

405b and 406b of fig. 4 b. If the other system information includes a set of system information parameters and corresponding parameter values associated with the SCI in addition to the SCI broadcast by the camped cell 104, the UE 102 stores the configuration parameters as a configuration list associated with the corresponding SCI. Further, at step 406b, the UE stores one or more SI blocks of OSI available in the camping cell acquired by the UE from the periodic broadcast; wherein the stored SI blocks of the OSI are associated with at least a system information area identifier (SAID) and a system information configuration index (SCI).

In an embodiment, the other SI broadcast indication/flag sent in the minimum system information indicates whether the cell is broadcasting other system information or transmitting OSI blocks on an as needed basis.

In an embodiment, multiple SCIs are broadcast in the minimum system information on the PBCH/SBCH, where each SCI is associated with the configuration of SI blocks provided as other system information.

In an embodiment, a system information area identifier (area Id/SAID) is broadcast in the minimum system information on the PBCH/SBCH, where the area Id/SAID points to a link to the area Id and SCI provided in the other system information.

A system information area identifier (area Id/SAID) is broadcast in the minimum system information on the PBCH/SBCH, where the area Id/SAID defines the SI area validity range for multiple SCIs.

In an embodiment, the UE stores one or more SI blocks of OSI available in the camped cell acquired by the UE through a trigger request procedure or from a periodic broadcast; wherein the stored SI blocks of the OSI are associated with at least a system information area identifier (SAID) and a system information configuration index (SCI).

In an embodiment, a common value tag (i.e., a counter) is broadcast in the minimum system information on the PBCH/SBCH indicating that at least one system information block provided in the other SI has been changed or updated.

In an embodiment, separate value tags (i.e., counters) are broadcast in the minimum system information on the PBCH/SBCH, where each separate value tag is associated with a change or update of a corresponding SI block provided in other SIs.

In an embodiment, the SIT invalid flag is broadcast in the minimum system information on the PBCH/SBCH, which if set to TRUE indicates to the UE 102 that the acquired and stored system information is invalid and that the UE 102 needs to clear all stored system information and acquire the updated SIT.

In an embodiment, the SCI associated with each system information block is included in the common part of the paging message.

In an embodiment, the SCI associated with each system information block is included in the common part of the paging message when the corresponding SI block is updated or changed or modified.

In an embodiment, the area Id/SAID is included in a common portion of the paging message.

In an embodiment, the update or change of the configuration of the at least one SI block is determined based on the presence of an SAID, wherein whether the SAID in the paging message is different from the SAID previously obtained from the MSI in the camped cell.

In an embodiment, both the area Id/SAID and SCI associated with each system information block are included in a common part of the paging message.

In an embodiment, the update or change of the configuration of the at least one SI block is determined based on the presence of multiple SCIs; wherein the SCI associated with the SI block in the paging message is different from the SCI of the corresponding SI block previously obtained from the MSI in the camped cell.

In an embodiment, a system information change indicator included in a common portion of a paging message is transmitted in a current system modification interval indicating that a configuration associated with one or more system information blocks is to be changed or updated from a beginning of a next system modification interval.

In an embodiment, the updating or changing of the configuration of the at least one SI block is determined based on the presence of a system information change indicator in the paging message, wherein the system information change indicator comprises a single bit indicating that at least one SI block available in the cell is updated or changed or a bitmap indicating which SI block available in the cell is updated or changed.

In an embodiment, at least one of a system information change indication, a region Id/SAID, and one or more SCIs associated with a system information block is included in the (e) PDCCH indicating a paging message, i.e., included in the DCI of the (e) PDCCH masked/addressed with the P-RNTI.

In an embodiment, the update or change of the configuration of the at least one SI block is determined based on the presence of at least one SCI and SAID, wherein whether the SCI associated with the at least one SI block and SAID in the MSI is different from the SCIs of the corresponding SI block and SAID from previously stored system information.

Fig. 5 a-5 c are schematic diagrams 500 of applicability of a system information table and a system information configuration indexed according to the system configuration according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

Fig. 5a and 5b are example illustrations of general concepts of applicability of system information tables and system information configurations from stored system information indexed by system configuration. Other system information provided to the UE 102 based on the SI request procedure or periodic broadcast of OSI includes blocks of system information or portions of system information transmitted in the SI window. Each system information block or system information portion is identified by a unique identifier so that the UE 102 can distinguish between each system information block type. For example, system information block x (SIB x), system information block y (SIB y), system information block z (SIB z), etc. indicate the SIB type. As shown in fig. 5a, for each system information block/section, there may be one or more configurations/versions, where each configuration/version associated with a particular system information block/section is identified by a system configuration index or System Configuration Identifier (SCI).

In the example, the system information block/part x (sib x) including parameter a, parameter B and parameter C has three configurations/versions, namely configuration 1, configuration 2 and configuration 3, identified by SCI #1, SCI #2 and SCI #3, respectively. Each configuration/version of SIB X employs a different combination of values for parameters A, B and C. The system information block/part y (sib y) comprising parameter D and parameter E also has three configurations/versions, namely configuration 1, configuration 2 and configuration 3, identified by SCI #1, SCI #2 and SCI #3, respectively. Multiple configurations/versions of each system information block/section representing different combinations of parameter values are provided in a list with the associated SCI as other system information. Different types of configuration/version lists of system information blocks/parts are provided, as other system information is generally referred to as a System Information Table (SIT). The SIT is valid within the PLMN on which the UE 102 has been registered. In addition to the configuration list, the SIT may also include an area Id/SAID, which is linked with the SCI of each system information Block type. For example, as shown in FIG. 5a, the area Id 1/SAID #1 is linked with SCI #1 of SIB X, SCI #3 of SIB Y and SCI #1 of SIB Z. Similarly, the area Id 2/SAID #2 is linked with SCI #2 of SIB X, SCI #1 of SIB Y and SCI #1 of SIB Z. In the representation of fig. 5a, a list of SCIs for each system information block type is provided for each area Id/SAID. Alternatively, a list of one or more area ids/SAIDs may be included for each SCI of each system information block type. For example, { area Id 1, area Id 2, area Id 3} may be linked with SCI #1 of SIB Z. Similarly, { area Id 1, area Id 3} may be linked with SCI #3 of SIB Y, while { area Id 1} is linked with SCI #1 of SIB X, and so on. An empty area Id or no area Id/SAID may mean that the SCI is valid throughout the PLMN.

The SIT depicted in fig. 5a is an example of a representation of SIT and should not be considered limiting of the representation of SIT. In an embodiment, the received SIT may contain a configuration/version list valid only in a specific area according to the included area Id/SAID, rather than the entire PLMN. In an embodiment, only one area Id/SAID may be included in the SIT, indicating that all configuration/version lists and associated SCIs included in the SIT are applicable in the area specified by the included area Id/SAID. Alternatively, the area to which the SIT is applicable is an area corresponding to a cell/TRP/RRA from which the UE 102 has acquired the SIT through a request-response procedure (i.e., on an as-needed basis), or from a broadcast of other system information. The SIT depicted in fig. 5a is one example of stored system information, where the UE stores one or more SI blocks of OSI available in the camped cell, acquired by the UE through a trigger request procedure or from a periodic broadcast; wherein the stored SI blocks of the OSI are associated with at least a system information area identifier (SAID) and a system information configuration index (SCI).

The region Id/SAID may be one of: physical cell ID (pci), TRP-ID, TRP group ID or RRA-ID or central unit identifier (CU-ID). The RRAs correspond to a group of cells 104 in which paging may be initiated by the RAN itself. The TRP group is a cluster or set of TRPs, wherein the system information configuration may be the same. The Central Unit (CU) is an eNB controller that controls several TRPs within the coverage area of the cell served by the eNB 103.

In an embodiment, the MSI includes a plurality of SCIs and SAIDs, wherein each SCI is associated with a configuration of corresponding SI blocks (SIBs) available as OSI in the camped cell, and wherein the SAIDs define a SI region validity range for applicability of the plurality of SCIs.

In embodiments, the SAID and multiple SCIs broadcast in the MSI may be a single identifier, or may be separate identifiers conveying both the configuration of the corresponding SI block (SIB) and the scope of the region for validity and applicability.

Configurations associated with SI blocks applicable in different parts of the network may be provided to the UE upon request or broadcast based on network implementation, such that SI blocks provided in one cell are also applicable and valid for other cells. The SCI associated with each SI block represents the configuration corresponding to the SI block used in the cell. The SCI needs to be broadcast in the minimum SI (msi) so that when the UE performs cell reselection, and if the UE already stores the configuration of the SI block corresponding to the SCI, the UE does not need to reacquire or request the SI block. The UE re-acquires or requests an SI block only if the UE does not have the configuration of the SI block corresponding to the SCI of the SI block or the stored configuration (SIT) is invalid. Broadcasting multiple SCIs in MIB #2 (i.e., SIB1) and MIB #1 is logical because the list of SCIs associated with the SI blocks available in the cell needs to be signaled and MIB #1 has a size limitation.

The configuration corresponding to an SI block changes due to mobility of the UE from one area to another (spatial domain) or the configuration is updated in time (temporal domain) within the same area. To indicate the change/update of configuration to the UE 102, SCI may be used. However, there is some similarity and some slight differences in the manner of indication to the UE 102 between the SCI and the system information value tag. For the spatial domain, when the configuration corresponding to the SI block acquired in one cell 104a is also applicable/valid in another cell 104b, then the value tag or SCI broadcast in MIB #2 (i.e., SIB1) is the same in all cells (i.e., 104a and 104b) belonging to the SI validity area indicated by the area Id/SAID. This means that the value tag is cell-specific if the SI validity area is one cell or area-specific if the SI validity area is more than one cell. The same applies if SCI is used.

In current LTE systems, the system information value tag is cell specific and each cell processes the value tag independently. This means that in LTE, the value labels broadcast in two different cells (i.e. 104a and 104b) may be the same, but the configuration corresponding to the SI block may be different. In the next generation wireless system (NR/5G system), for the case where the value tag is area-specific, some coordination is required to broadcast the same value tag in MIB #2 (i.e., SIB1) of

cells

104a and 104b belonging to the SI validity area. This coordination may be left to the network implementation, e.g., based on operation and maintenance (O & M) management. The same applies if SCI is used. In LTE, the UE 102 considers the stored system information invalid after 3 hours/24 hours from the time it was successfully confirmed as valid, or based on the configured parameter SI validity time. In an NR/5G system, it may be assumed that the SI block configuration associated with the value tag is valid for a certain period of time similar to the LTE validity time concept. The same applies if SCI is used. In LTE systems, the value tag is simply incremented when the configuration is updated in the time domain within the same cell. In such an action, it is assumed that there is no mapping between the value tag and the associated configuration, and thus a simple increment is possible, since the value tag is reused within the cell after the range of the value tag wraps around. A disadvantage of this process is that if some previous configuration is reapplied in the cell 104 some time later, a different value tag is used than the previously used value tag. If the validity period of the previous value tag has not expired, the UE 102 still reacquires the same configuration simply because the value tag has changed. The value tag applicability of SI updates in NR/5G systems is not the same as the LTE principles for SI update handling and validity. If SCI is used, it is slightly different because there is an explicit mapping maintained by the network between SCI and the associated SI block configuration. Thus, if some of the previous configurations are reapplied in the cell 104, the same SCI is broadcast due to the explicit mapping. This is an advantage because the UE 102 does not have to re-acquire the configuration, as opposed to when using a value tag. For value labeling applicability on a region specific level, some coordination is needed anyway, so the explicit mapping is also applicable for value labeling methods deviating from LTE principles. The different SI block configurations used in current LTE networks are not always large, i.e. only a few parameters change in the SI block configuration, while most parameters remain unchanged (current LTE value is tagged with 5 bits). The SCI range need not be large and in most cases is similar to the value tag range.

Based on the above comparison of the value tag and SCI, the current value tag concept in LTE is not directly applicable to NR/5G systems, at least for the case where the value tag is region specific. Some modification of the value tag handling will be required, i.e. coordination between

cells

104a and 104b of the same SI validity area, simple incrementing of the value tag for time domain updates resulting in unnecessary reacquisition, etc. If these modifications are made, there is no distinction between the system information value tag and the SCI processing. This will be merely a difference in nomenclature of the terms. In order not to be confused with the value label concept of LTE, since it will not be the same in NR/5G systems, the system information configuration index (SCI) terminology used for SI validity handling in the spatial and temporal domains is more appropriate.

Fig. 5b depicts a schematic illustration of the applicability of the system information table and the system information configuration according to the system configuration index when the UE moves within the same cell, i.e. a TRP handover occurs.

As shown in fig. 5b, the UE 102 obtains one of the following from the minimum system information: the SCI associated with each system information block, or area Id/SAID, or both area Id/SAID and SCI associated with each system information block, where the minimum system information is broadcast from the camping cell 104a served by the TRP 105a covering the area 510 a. SCIs broadcast in the minimum system information of the TRP 105a from the coverage area 510a correspond to SCI #1 of SIB X, SCI #3 of SIB Y, and SCI #1 of SIB Z, respectively. Instead of sending multiple SCIs, an alternative is to broadcast the area Id/SAID in the minimum system information. If the UE 102 has acquired OSI and stored system information, the UE 102 refers to a configuration list in the SIT previously acquired using a request-response procedure (i.e., on an as-needed basis) or from a broadcast to check whether the SCI acquired from the MSI is present in the SIT.

In an embodiment, the UE checks whether the area Id/SAID acquired from the MSI exists in the link information of the area Id/SAID and the SCI in the stored system information. In SIT, the region Id 1 is linked with SCI #1 of SIB X, SCI #3 of SIB Y and SCI #1 of SIB Z. As shown in FIG. 5b, when UE 102 is in coverage area 510a, the SIB X parameters and values identified by SCI #1, the SIB Y parameters and values identified by SCI #3, and the SIB Z parameters and values identified by SCI #1 are applied from a configuration list. If the UE 102 has just been powered on in the area 510a and has acquired the MSI broadcast by the cell 104a on the PBCH/SBCH, the UE 102 follows the procedure depicted in FIG. 4a or FIG. 4a to acquire other system information (i.e., SIT).

Furthermore, the obtained SIT is applicable not only to the coverage area of the serving TRP 105a but also to neighboring TRPs. The neighboring TRPs may belong to the serving cell or to the neighboring cells, which means that the acquired SIT is applicable to the neighboring cells as well, unless there is a notification of a change or update of one or more system information blocks/parts of the SIT. During mobility, it is assumed that the UE 102 moves from the coverage area 510a to the coverage area 510b, which coverage area 510b is served by another TRP controlled by the eNB 103 other than the TRP serving the coverage area 510 a. Even if the coverage area 510b belongs to the same cell 104a that also includes the coverage area 510a, the TRP cluster or set serving the coverage area 510a may have some portion of system information that is different from the TRP cluster or set serving the coverage area 510 b. The clusters or sets of TRPs may have the same TRP group ID. In an example, the RACH configuration may be different in

coverage areas

510a and 510b even if they belong to the same cell 104a controlled by the same eNB 103 a.

The UE 102 now obtains from the minimum system information one of the following: the SCI associated with each system information block, or area Id/SAID, or both area Id/SAID and SCI associated with each system information block, where the minimum system information is broadcast from the TRP 105b serving the coverage area 510 b. Furthermore, UE 102 recognizes that in coverage area 510b, the SCIs of SIB X and SIB Y have changed from SCI #1 to SCI #2 and from SCI #3 to SCI #1, while the SCI of SIB Z remains unchanged, as compared to coverage area 510 a. Alternatively, the UE 102 recognizes that the area Id/SAID has changed from area Id 1 to area Id 2 while moving from coverage area 510a to coverage area 510 b. As shown in FIG. 5b, when UE 102 is in coverage area 510b, the SIB X parameters and values identified by SCI #2, the SIB Y parameters and values identified by SCI #1, and the SIB Z parameters and values identified by SCI #1 are applied from the configuration list.

Similarly, when UE 102 moves from coverage area 510b to coverage area 510c, the SCI associated with SIB X and SIB Y changes from SCI #2 to SCI #3 and SCI #1 to SCI #3, respectively, while the SCI associated with SIB Z remains unchanged. As shown in fig. 5b, when UE 102 is in coverage area 510c, UE 102 refers to the stored SIT table and applies the SIB X parameters and values identified by SCI #3, SIB Y parameters and values identified by SCI #3, and SIB Z parameters and values identified by SCI #1 from the configuration list (if the validity timer for the corresponding SCI has not expired). The region Id/SAID is depicted at the TRP level in fig. 5b, where the region Id may be the TRP group Id.

One problem when moving from coverage area 510a to coverage area 510b to coverage area 510c within the same cell 104a is that the UE 102 needs to acquire the MSI (i.e., decode the PBCH/SBCH) at each TRP change within the same cell to determine whether the SCI or area Id/SAID has changed. This is possible if the TRP-ID is visible to the UE. This can be a significant burden from the UE power consumption point of view. Furthermore, if the TRP is transparent to the UE, TRP handover and a change in coverage area from 510a to 510b to 510s within the same cell are not recognized by the UE. Such a problem when the TRP is transparent and the burden when the TRP-ID is visible can be avoided if the paging message sent by the TRP 105 controlled by the eNB 1103 a of the cell 104a also includes the SCI of the system information block in the paging message. A UE 102 in idle/inactive mode must anyway check the paging message every paging cycle to determine if there is a page for it from the network. The paging message has paging records for several UEs 102a to 102c and 102x to 102z indicating network callees (terminated calls) to those UEs 102a to 102c and 102x to 102 z. Within the paging message, there may be a common part in addition to the paging record for the individual UE 102, where the common part includes the SCI or area Id/SAID of the system information block.

Upon decoding the common portion of the paging message, the UE 102 may determine whether the SCI of any SIB has changed compared to the SCI value previously obtained from the MSI or the previous occasion of the paging cycle. The paging message may include only the SCIs of SIBs that are expected to be updated; where the SI block type is also included with the associated SCI. If there is a change in the SCI value associated with one or more system information blocks, the UE 102 may reference the stored system information to check if the configuration associated with the SCI obtained from the paging message is available, and if so, may apply the appropriate configuration associated with the SCI value read from the paging message (assuming the validity timer has not expired). If not available in the stored system information, the UE 102 may perform the request-response procedure depicted in FIG. 4a or FIG. 4 b.

In an embodiment, the notion of applicability of system information configuration from the configuration list is possible during cell reselection (i.e., moving from cell 104a to cell 104b) based on the SCIs acquired from the MSI. The applicability concept of system information configuration from the configuration list is not limited to TRP handover/change within the same cell, but may also apply generally to TRP change across different cells, or TRP change during cell reselection where different cells are served by different central enbs 103. Fig. 5c depicts a schematic illustration of the applicability of the system information table and the system information configuration according to the system configuration index when the UE moves from one cell to another (i.e. cell reselection).

If the linking of area Id/SAIDs is limited to only one SCI per SIB, this may become overly restrictive from the wireless network operator's perspective. This also requires careful network planning on behalf of the network operator. Furthermore, multiple configurations/versions of the system information block (i.e. more than one SCI of the same system information block) are provided for the area Id/SAID. This scheme may provide some simplification and flexibility for the wireless network provider to plan SCIs within PLMNs. For example, as shown in FIG. 5c, the area Id 1 is linked with SIB X (SCI #1, SCI #2), SIB Y (SCI #3), and SIB Z (SCI # 1). Similarly, the area Id 2 is linked with SIB X (SCI #2), SIB Y (SCI #1, SCI #2), and SIB Z (SCI #1), and so on. Such an indication would be useful if the area Id/SAID indicates an area covered on a cell level or group of cells. As an example, in fig. 5c, the area Id/SAID is depicted on a cell level, where the area Id/SAID may be, for example, a cell Id.

However, the illustration of area ID/SAID for cell level in fig. 5c should not be seen as a limiting case. Cell 104a consists of several TRPs 105a, 105b, etc. and cell 104b consists of several TRPs 105c, 105d, etc. wherein the clusters and sets of TRPs have the same system configuration. At the cell level (i.e., area Id level), different SCIs associated with the system information block may be used in different TRP clusters within cell 104a and cell 104 b. As shown in FIG. 5c, in cell 1104a, coverage area 520a and coverage area 520b have the same SCI for SIB Y and SIB Z (i.e., SIB Y's SCI #3 and SIB Z's SCI #1), while SCI #1 is used for SIB X in coverage area 520a and SCI #2 is used for SIB X in coverage area 520 b.

Similarly, within cell 2104 b, coverage area 520c and coverage area 520d have the same SCI for SIB X and SIB Z (i.e., SCI #2 for SIB X and SCI #1 for SIB Z), while SCI #1 is used for SIB Y in coverage area 520c and SCI #2 is used for SIB Y in coverage area 520 d. In the scenario shown in FIG. 5c, after obtaining the area Id/SAID from the MSI, the UE 102 cannot determine which configuration of SIB X (SCI #1 or SCI #2) must be applied based on the area Id/SAID alone. The UE 102 also needs to read the SCI value and the area Id associated with the SIB X sent by the serving cell in the MSI and then refer to the stored system information (i.e., SIT), where the linking information in the SIT is used to determine the appropriate configuration of the corresponding system information block to be applied. When configured from the SIT application, the UE checks whether the validity timer associated with the SCI has not expired.

As shown in fig. 5c, the UE 102 acquires both the area Id/SAID and the SCI associated with each system information block from the minimum system information broadcast by the camped cell 104a served by the TRP 105a of the coverage area 520 a. The UE 102 determines the area Id 1 and SCI #1 of SIB X, SCI #3 of SIB Y, and SCI #1 of SIB Z from the MSI. Even if in the stored system information (i.e., SIT) the area Id 1 is linked to both SCI #1 and SCI #2 of SIB X, the UE 102 may determine that it must apply the configuration associated with SCI #1 of SIB X, the configuration associated with SCI #3 of SIB Y, and the configuration associated with SCI #1 of SIB Z when served by the TRP 105a within the coverage area 520a of cell 1104 a. When the UE 102 moves to the coverage area 520b of cell 1104a, the area Id/SAID is unchanged, so if the UE 102 relies only on the area Id/SAID, it will continue to apply the configuration associated with SCI #1 of SIB X as an incorrect configuration. However, if the UE 102 reads both the area Id/SAID and the SCI of each system information block from the paging message (within the same cell, the UE is not required to read the MSI again), then when the UE 102 moves from coverage area 520a to coverage area 520b, it can be determined that the SCI of SIB Y and the SCI of SIB Z have not changed, but the SCI of SIB X has changed from SCI #1 to SCI #2, even though the area ids are the same. The UE 102 then refers to the linking information in the SIT, and applies the configuration associated with SCI #2 of SIB X, the configuration associated with SCI #3 of SIB Y, and the configuration associated with SCI #1 of SIB Z from the stored system information (i.e., SIT) when served by the TRP 105b within the coverage area 520b of cell 1104 a.

In another case, the UE may determine that the area Id/SAID has changed when the UE 102 moves from the coverage area 520a of the cell 1104a to the coverage area 520c of the cell 2104 b (i.e., a cell reselection scenario). During cell reselection, the UE 102 is required to acquire the MSI broadcast on the PBCH/SBCH of the reselected cell (i.e., cell 2104 b). Based only on the area Id/SAID, the UE 102 may determine that the system configuration may have changed when moving from cell 1104a to cell 2104 b. However, based only on the area Id/SAID, since the applicability and validity of SCI is within the range of area Id/SAID, the UE only needs to re-acquire all SIB X, SIB Y, and SIB Z configurations associated with SIB X's SCI #2, SIB Y's SCI #2, and SIB Z's SCI # 1. However, if the stored system information (i.e., SIT) has a valid configuration for area Id 2, the UE 102 may determine that it must apply the configuration associated with SCI #2 of SIB X and the configuration associated with SCI #1 of SIB Z, but cannot determine whether to apply the configuration associated with SCI #1 or SCI #1 of SIB Y. Thus, the UE 102 is required to read both the area Id/SAID and the SCI of each system information block from the MSI sent by the TRP 105c of the serving coverage area 520c within the cell 2104 b to determine the appropriate configuration associated with the SCI of the corresponding SI block to be applied from the SIT. In the coverage area 520c, the UE 102 determines the area Id 2 and SCI #2 of SIB X, SCI #1 of SIB Y, and SCI #1 of SIB Z from the acquired MSI transmitted by the TRP 105c of the cell 2104 b. Referring to the linking information in the SIT, the UE 102, when served by the TRP 105c within the coverage area 520c of cell 2104 b, may determine that it needs to apply the configuration associated with SCI #2 of SIB X, the configuration associated with SCI #1 of SIB Y, and the configuration associated with SCI #1 of SIB Z from the stored SIT.

The applicability and scope of the SCI is cell-specific or region-specific. There are two options to define the scope of the SCI:

option 1: a single index per SI block, an

Option 2: a separate explicit system information area id (said).

The SAID may be common to all the locale-specific SI blocks, so a list of locale-specific SCIs may be signaled along with the SAIDs in the MSI. Alternatively, when the SAID is not common to all the region-specific SI blocks, the SAID is signaled separately for each SI block, along with the region-specific SCI.

From the network perspective, the SCI range is area specific, so that the UE 102 should know the area range, but there is no benefit to the UE 102 to know the SAID. It is important for the UE 102 to unambiguously determine whether the SCI is unique and whether it is valid. In option 1, the uniqueness of the SCI can be guaranteed by attaching a zone identifier (zone Id) in front of the SCI to form a single index for each SI block. For example, assuming that the area identifier (area Id) is 10 bits and the SCI is 10 bits, the single index is 20 bits. This is similar to the 28 bit cell identity sent in SIB1 in LTE where the cell identity explicitly identifies the cell within the PLMN. The UE 102 cannot distinguish how the 28 bits are distributed for the eNB ID and cell ID. Therefore, just like cell identification, it does not seem necessary to hard partition (hard split) the area identifier (area Id) and SCI with a single indexing scheme. Instead, the split between the area identifier (area Id) and the SCI is known to the operator, which provides flexibility to ensure that the SCI is unique within the PLMN. From a signaling overhead point of view, broadcasting a longer single index per SI block in MIB #2 (i.e., SIB1) is not preferred.

In option 2, an explicit system information area id (said) common to all area-specific SI blocks is broadcast in MIB #2 (i.e., SIB1) in addition to the SCI list corresponding to each SI block available in the cell. The UE 102 needs to check both the area Id/SAID and the SCI to determine if the SCI is unique and if it is valid. For a particular SIB, if the area Id/SAID changes for a UE 102 moving from one area to another, the UE 102 needs to reacquire new system information applicable to the new area. For a particular SI block, if the area Id/SAID does not change moving from one area to another, but the SCI associated with that SI block changes, while it does not change for other SI blocks, the UE 102 reacquires only those SI blocks for which the SCI has changed.

In alternative option 2, the SCI and the system information area Id are signaled separately for each SI block. In such a scheme, the extent of the SCI region for each SI block may be different. In terms of signaling overhead, the single index per SI block (option 1) and explicit area Id/SAID plus SCI both perform similarly, while the common area Id/SAID plus SCI list scheme is better. Option 1 is a single step procedure and option 2 is a two step procedure in terms of the complexity of the UE determining whether to reacquire the SI block.

The format of the system information area Id (SAID) defining the SCI range may be a single index, explicit area Id/SAID, or may be based on a list of cell IDs or PCIs. For the cell ID or PCI list scheme, the UE 102 needs to be provided with UE specific signaling when the UE 102 is in a connected state. From an overhead point of view, it is not efficient to provide the list on the broadcast in MIB #2 (i.e., SIB 1). If the UE 102 moves to a region where the cell ID or decoded PCI in MIB #2 (i.e., SIB1) does not belong in the cell ID/PCI list, the UE 102 needs to reacquire system information, but does not require the UE 102 to move to a connected state to acquire the cell ID/PCI list applicable to the new region.

In LTE, each cell broadcasts its own system information. The value tag concept is used to verify SI stored in LTE systems. The UE 102 deletes any stored SI after 3/24 hours from the time it was confirmed valid. However, the UE 102 is not instructed to store SI other than camping cell, and storing SI of previously visited cells depends on the UE implementation. For an NR/5G system, the UE 102 may be provided with a configuration list corresponding to each SI block (i.e., more than one version of SI block configuration). The UE stores more than one version of the SI block configuration and associated SCI and area Id/SAID. Upon checking the SCI broadcast in the MSI or received in the paging message, the UE 102 applies the appropriate SI block configuration from the stored SI or SIT. This will minimize reacquisition if there is a valid stored SI block configuration. It can be considered that storing multiple versions of SI block configurations increases the storage requirements for storing configuration lists at the UE 102. None of these are valid issues and may be handled based on a validity timer associated with the SCI, where the corresponding configuration is deleted upon expiration of the validity timer. Further, the network decides whether to provide the UE 102 with a single SI block configuration or a list of configurations for some SI blocks. If the network decides on the broadcast mechanism, the network typically provides a single SI block configuration. If the network decides to unicast, the network may only provide SI block configuration lists to those UEs 102 a-102 c and 102 x-102 z, depending on the UE storage capabilities. This avoids commanding all UEs 102a to 102c and 102x to 102z to have extra large memory capacity. Thus, similar to LTE, the UE 102 is not commanded to store SI other than camping on a cell. Storing the acquired SI of the previously visited cell depends on the UE implementation. The network decides to provide the SI block configuration list (i.e., one or more versions of the SI block configuration) based on the UE storage capabilities.

Fig. 6a is an exemplary illustration of a step-by-step procedure for applicability of system information configuration according to a system configuration index acquired from a paging message or MSI during mobility or cell reselection or TRP handover within a camped cell when the acquired SCI or area Id/SAID is present in the stored system information (i.e., SIT), according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

Fig. 6b and 6c illustrate example scenarios of a step-by-step procedure of applicability of system information configuration according to a system configuration index acquired from a paging message or MSI during mobility or TRP handover or cell reselection within a camped cell, when the acquired SCI and/or area Id/SAID are not present in the stored system information (i.e., SIT), according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

A procedure 600a for suitability of system information configuration according to a system configuration index acquired from a paging message or MSI during mobility or TRP handover or cell reselection within the camped cell 104 when the acquired SCI and/or area Id/SAID is present in the stored system information (i.e., SIT) is described in fig. 6 a.

At step 601a, UE 102 camps on cell 1104a and has acquired Minimum System Information (MSI) broadcasted in MIB #1 and MIB #3 (i.e., SIB1) from cell 1104a and also acquired Other System Information (OSI) from cell 1104a using SI request procedure or according to periodic broadcast. Based on the multiple SCI values and/or the zone Id/SAID obtained from the MSI of cell 104a, UE 102 has applied the corresponding configuration of SI blocks (SIBs) by referencing a configuration list in Other System Information (OSI). The UE 102 stores all acquired system information available in the camped cell 104 a. During mobility within cell 1104a, there is a possibility of TRP change or TRP handover, which may result in different configurations of one or more system information blocks.

At step 602a, different TRPs of the cell 1104a controlled by the central eNB 103a transmit a paging message including at least the SCI, area Id/SAID associated with each SIB and a paging record for one or more UEs 102.

At step 603a, the UE 102 monitors the paging occasion according to the configured paging cycle and checks for a paging message for SCI or area Id/SAID. If the SCI associated with the SIBs received in the paging message is different from the SCI of the corresponding SIBs previously acquired from the MSI in step 601a, the UE 102 determines that the system configuration for those corresponding SIBs has changed. Alternatively, if the area Id/SAID received in the paging message is different from the area Id/SAID previously acquired from the MSI in step 601a, the UE 102 determines that the system configuration has changed for some SIBs. In some cases, the area Id/SAID may not change but the SCIs associated with the SIBs may change, or the SCIs associated with some SIBs may not change but the area Id/SAID may change. The paging message may include only SCIs associated with correspondingly configured SIBs that are expected to be updated or changed or modified in cell 1104 a. In this case, the SI block type and associated SCI are included in the paging message.

If there is a change in SCI and/or area Id/SAID, the UE 102 refers to the configuration list or link information of the SCI and area Id/SAID in the stored SIT at step 604 a. If the configuration of the SIB associated with the changed SCI obtained from the paging message is available in the SIT, the UE 102 disables the previous configuration and applies the new configuration from the SIT of the changed SCI at step 606a, provided that the validity timer has not expired for the new configuration. For an unchanged SCI obtained from the paging message, it is safe to disable the previous configuration and apply the new configuration also from the SIT where the SCI was changed. However, this is not necessary, as for an unchanged SCI, the associated configuration corresponding to the SIB is not changed or updated. By monitoring or reading the paging message every paging cycle, the UE 102 is not required to decode the MSI to determine if there is a change in the system information configuration at every TRP change within the same cell. Further, when the UE 102 is not moving (i.e., stationary) in the cell 1104a, the UE 102 is not required to decode the MSI to determine whether there is a change in the system information configuration (i.e., a time domain update of the system information) by monitoring or reading the paging message every paging cycle. From the UE perspective, the UE 102 monitors the PDCCH/ePDCCH during the paging occasion every paging cycle to check whether the paging message is sent by the serving cell. For example, the paging message may not be sent every paging update occasion, as there may not be a paging record for any UE. Each time a paging message is sent by the TRP 105 of the serving cell, the paging message includes the SCI and/or area Id associated with each changed or updated SIB. The SCI and/or the zone Id sent in the paging message at step 602a is the same as the SCI and/or zone Id broadcast in the MSI by the TRP 105 of the serving cell at step 605 a. The paging message may also be sent by the TRP 105 of the serving cell during a paging occasion even if there is no paging record for the individual UE 102. This is possible when it is expected to change the configuration of certain SIB(s) in the system modification interval N +1, then in each paging occasion during the system modification interval N, a paging message including a system information change indication is sent at step 602 a. The inclusion of the system information change indication is explained in detail in the description of fig. 7a, 7b and 7 c.

At the beginning of the system modification interval N +1, the TRP of cell 1104a periodically broadcasts the corresponding MSI on the PBCH/SBCH at step 605 a. The SCI and/or area Id broadcast in the MSI by the TRP 105 of the serving cell (i.e., cell 1104 a) at step 605a is the same as the SCI and/or area Id received by the UE 102 in the paging message during the system information modification interval N at step 602.

Furthermore, due to mobility towards the cell edge, a UE 102 camping on a cell 1104a served by one or more TRPs controlled by the eNB 103a may experience poor signal quality from the cell 1104 a. The UE 102 may detect a synchronization signal from one or more TRPs 105 controlled by the eNB 103b of the serving cell 2104 b, and upon synchronization signal detection, a signal strength comparison of the cell 1104a quality and the cell 2104 b quality may be performed based on a Beam Reference Signal (BRS) or some reference signals.

At step 607aa, TRP 105 of cell 2104 b periodically broadcasts the corresponding MSI on the PBCH/SBCH. If the signal quality of cell 2104 b is better than the signal quality of cell 1104a, UE 102 acquires the MSI from cell 2104 b at step 607 ab. Further, UE 102 performs cell reselection according to a threshold criterion, also referred to as a cell reselection criterion, and camps on cell 2104 b at step 608 a. Upon cell reselection from cell 1104a to cell 2104 b, the UE 102 is required to decode the PBCH/SBCH transmitted by the TRP 105 of cell 2104 b to obtain the MSI. If the SCI associated with one or more SIBs obtained from the MSI broadcast by cell 2104 b is different from the SCI of the corresponding SIBs previously obtained from the MSI in step 601a, UE 102 determines in step 609a that the system configuration for those corresponding SIBs has changed, i.e., the spatial domain of the system information has changed. Alternatively, if the area Id/SAID acquired from the MSI broadcast by the cell 2104 b is different from the area Id/SAID previously acquired from the MSI in step 601a, the UE 102 determines that the system configuration for a certain SIB has changed, i.e., the spatial domain of the system information has changed. At step 610a, the UE 102 refers to the stored configuration list or link information of the area Id/SAID and SCI in the SIT. At step 611a, if the configuration of the SIB associated with the changed SCI and the area Id/SAID obtained from the MSI of cell 2104 b is available in the SIT, the UE 102 disables the previous configuration and applies the new configuration from the SIT of the changed SCI, provided that the validity timer has not expired for the new configuration. For unchanged SCIs and area Id/SAIDs, SCIs obtained from the MSI broadcast by cell 2104 b, it is safe to disable the previous configuration and apply the new configuration to the SIT of the unchanged SCI. However, this is not necessary, as for an unchanged SCI, if the area Id/SAID is also not changed, the associated configuration corresponding to the SIB will not change.

In some cases, the SCI obtained from the paging message or the MSI broadcasted by the reselecting cell after TRP handover or cell reselection may not have a corresponding configuration in the stored system information (i.e., SIT). In some other cases, the SIT may be invalid if the validity timer for all SIBs has expired. In some other cases, the SIT is valid in a specific area according to the area Id/SAID included in the SIT, rather than in the entire PLMN. In this case, after cell reselection, the area Id/SAID obtained from the MSI broadcast by the reselecting cell (i.e., cell 2104 b) may be different from the stored area Id/SAID of the previously camped cell (i.e., cell 1104 a), where the area Id/SAID is included in the MSI obtained from the previously camped cell (i.e., cell 104 a). In this case, the SI validity region has changed, and the UE 102 needs to trigger the SI request procedure to obtain other system information (i.e., SIT), or obtain OSI from the broadcast if the broadcast indicator/flag included in the MSI is enabled.

Procedures

600b and 600c for applicability of system information configuration according to a system configuration index acquired from a paging message or MSI during mobility or TRP handover or cell reselection within a camped cell when the acquired SCI and/or area Id/SAID is not present in the stored system information (i.e., SIT) are depicted in fig. 6b and 6c, according to embodiments herein. All steps up to step 605a in fig. 6b and 6c are the same as in fig. 6a, and thus the description of these steps is omitted when describing the steps of fig. 6b and 6 c. At steps 606b and 606c of fig. 6b and 6c, the difference compared to fig. 6a is that the relevant system configuration associated with the changed SCI and/or area Id(s) obtained from the paging message is not found in the stored system information (i.e., SIT). Thus, the UE 102 is required to reacquire the updated or changed configuration of one or more SIBs from the beginning of the modification interval N + 1. At steps 606b and 606c, UE 102 checks the status of the broadcast indicator/flag sent by cell 1104a in the MSI. All steps in fig. 6b and 6c are the same except for the steps after checking the status of the broadcast indicator/flag included in the acquired MSI. Fig. 6b depicts the case where the broadcast indicator/flag included in the acquired MSI is FALSE (i.e., other system information is not broadcast periodically). In this case, the UE 102 needs to perform an SI request procedure and acquire the requested SI.

At step 607ba, the UE 102 triggers the SI request procedure to acquire the configuration associated with the changed SCI and/or the changed area Id from the TRP of the cell 1104a for time domain update of the system information scenario or TRP change scenario within the same cell (i.e., cell 104 a). For a cell change scenario (i.e., a cell reselection scenario), the UE 102 needs to trigger the SI request procedure at step 614ba to acquire the configuration associated with the changed SCI and/or the changed area Id from the TRP of the cell 2104 b. Upon receiving a UE SI request in cell 1104a at step 607ba or in cell 2104 b at step 614ba, the network may broadcast the updated system information requested by the UE 102 in the corresponding SI window according to the scheduling information included in the MSI at step 607bb/614bb or respond to the requested SI with dedicated signaling at step 607bb/614 bb.

In step 606c in fig. 6c, the case is depicted where the broadcast indicator/flag included in the acquired MSI is TRUE (i.e., other system information is periodically broadcast). In this case, the UE 102 does not need to trigger the SI request procedure. Instead, UE 102 acquires the new configuration from the broadcast completed at step 607c from the beginning of modification interval N +1 during the corresponding SI window according to the scheduling information included in the MSI. At step 607c, the UE 102 acquires the updated or changed other system information from the TRP completed broadcast of the camping cell for time domain update of the system information scenario or TRP change scenario within the same cell (i.e., cell 104 a). For the cell reselection scenario from cell 1104a to cell 2104 b, respectively, in step 614c, the UE 102 acquires the changed other system information from the broadcast done by the TRP 105 of the reselected cell (i.e., cell 2104 b). After acquiring the updated or changed system information, the UE 102 applies the acquired configuration and stores the acquired configuration to update the stored SI at steps 608b/608c and 615b/615c in fig. 6b and 6 c.

In the case where the stored system information (i.e., SIT) is valid within a specific area as indicated by the area Id/SAID in the SIT, the UE 102 needs to check the area Id/SAID included in the paging message or the area Id/SAID broadcasted in the MSI, and if the acquired area Id/SAID does not match the area Id/SAID in the stored system information (i.e., SIT), the UE needs to follow the SI request procedure to request a configuration list of changed system information (i.e., SIT), or to acquire a new SIT valid for the acquired area Id/SAID from a corresponding SI window broadcast.

Fig. 7a and 7b illustrate a general design 700 for changing a system information configuration according to a system information change indication included in a paging message according to embodiments as disclosed herein.

In an embodiment, the UE checks whether a system information change indicator is included in the paging message, or whether multiple SCIs associated with each updated SI block are included in the paging message, and/or a system information area identifier (area Id/SAID) is included in the paging message. The UE then determines whether one or more SI blocks (SIBs) available in the camped cell are updated or changed or modified. The SIT provided to the UE 102 in the form of Other System Information (OSI) includes a list of configurations/versions associated with each SIB and corresponding SCI. The configuration list in the SIT is valid in the entire PLMN or in a specific area according to the area Id/SAID contained in the SIT.

Upon successful acquisition of the configuration list, the UE 102 starts a validity timer and the stored System Information (SIT) is valid until the validity timer expires. In some cases, it should be possible to update the stored system information (i.e., SIT) with a new configuration/version list, where a UE 102 that has acquired the SIT needs to update the stored system information (i.e., SIT) and apply an updated configuration that is appropriate for the coverage area in which it resides. Such updating of the configuration list is possible if the SCI associated with each configuration of SIBs is unique and valid in the PLMN or within a specific area (i.e. SI validity area defined according to area Id/SAID). If a large number of configurations are defined or extensions to existing configurations are done, this will result in a large range of SCIs (hundreds of SCI values) associated with each SIB. If the two configurations are not used simultaneously, the same SCI may be used for both different configurations of the same SIB within the scope of the PLMN. If the area validity of the SCIs associated with the two configurations is defined by area Id/SAID, the same SCI may be used for two different configurations of the same SIB within the PLMN. From the UE perspective, the configuration of the SIBs associated with a SCI, if stored in the UE 102, is valid for some period (i.e., the SI validity timer), such as 12 hours or 24 hours. After such a validity period, the same SCI may be associated with different configurations of SIBs.

If the SCI range is small (tens of SCI values), the SCI range becomes quite limited to cover all the different configurations associated with the corresponding SIB. In this case, it is not possible to have a unique SCI associated with the corresponding configuration of the SIB. This will result in that the same SCI can be associated with more than one configuration of SIBs within range of the PLMN. In this case, the area Id/SAID defines a unique range of SCIs when the same SCI is used for different configurations of intra-PLMN-wide SIBs. The system information change indicator included in the paging message is insufficient to handle updating of the SIB configuration associated with the SCI. In addition to the system information change indicator in the paging message, the changed SCI or value tag (i.e., the counter associated with the configured version of the corresponding SIB) is sent in the paging message or MSI. The UE decodes the MSI at the beginning of the next modification interval upon receiving the system information change indicator in the paging message, where the area Id/SAID associated with the SIB remains unchanged, but the SCI or value tag is changed. Alternatively, the UE is expected to be updated upon receiving the system information change indicator, SI block type and associated SCI in the paging message to determine the corresponding configuration of the SI block. For changed area Id/SAID obtained from MSI's where the SCI or value tag remains unchanged, the UE 102 is required to obtain a new configuration of the corresponding SIB. This mechanism is illustrated in detail in fig. 8.

Determining an update or change or modification of a configuration of one or more SI blocks (SIBs) based on the presence of a system information change indicator in the paging message, wherein the system information change indicator may be a single bit indicating that at least one SI block (SIB) available in the cell 104 is updated or changed or modified. The paging message includes a single bit indicator for SI update and an SI block type to indicate that the available SI blocks in the camped cell are expected to be updated or changed or modified. Determining an update or change or modification of a configuration of one or more SI blocks (SIBs) based on a presence of a system information change indicator in a paging message. The system information change indicator may be a bitmap indicating that the SI blocks (SIBs) available in the cell 104 are updated or changed or modified. The bitmap in the paging message is equal in length to the number of SI blocks (SIBs) available in the camped cell except MIB #1 and MIB #2 (i.e., SIB 1). When the system information change indicator is a single bit, the UE 102 is required to read the MSI at the beginning of the next modification period to obtain multiple SCIs and determine which SCI was changed compared to the SCI previously obtained in the camped cell. When the system information change indicator is a bitmap, the UE 102 is still required to read the MSI at the beginning of the next modification period to obtain the changed SCI corresponding to the bit in the bitmap for which the associated SI block (SIB) configuration is updated or changed or modified.

When the system information change indicator is a bitmap and the changed SCI corresponding to the bit in which the associated SI block (SIB) configuration in the bitmap is expected to be updated or changed or modified is included in the paging message, then the UE 102 is not required to read the MSI at the beginning of the next modification period.

When the system information change indicator is a single bit and the changed SCI associated with an SI block type is included in a paging message for which the corresponding SI block (SIB) configuration is expected to be updated or changed or modified, the UE 102 is not required to read the MSI at the beginning of the next modification period.

In an embodiment, an update or change or modification of the configuration/version of one or more SI blocks (SIBs) is determined based on the existence of multiple SCIs. Whether the SCI associated with an SI block (SIB) in the paging message is different from the SCI of the corresponding SI block (SIB) previously obtained from the MSI in the camped cell.

In an embodiment, an update or change or modification of a configuration/version of one or more SI blocks (SIBs) is determined based on the presence of a system information change indicator. The system information change indicator is a single bit indicating at least one SI block (SIB) available in the cell is updated/changed/modified or a bitmap indicating which SI block (SIB) available in the camping cell is updated/changed/modified.

In an embodiment, an update or change or modification of a configuration/version of one or more SI blocks (SIBs) is determined based on the presence of a system information change indicator and one or more SI block types that also include an associated SCI. If the SCI associated with the SI block type included in the paging message is not identical to the SCI of the corresponding SI block type previously obtained from the MSI in the camped cell and the corresponding SIB configuration is not available in the stored system information, the UE acquires the updated SIB block configuration broadcasted from the beginning of the next modification interval without reacquiring the MSI.

In an embodiment, an update or change or modification of a configuration/version of one or more SI blocks (SIBs) is determined based on a system information change indicator and the presence of multiple SCIs. Broadcasting the changed SCI associated with the updated or modified or changed SIB block in the MSI from the beginning of the next modification interval if the SCI associated with the SI block (SIB) in the paging message is the same as the SCI of the corresponding SI block (SIB) previously obtained from the MSI in the camped cell.

In an embodiment, an update or change or modification of the configuration/version of one or more SI blocks (SIBs) is determined based on the presence of a region Id/SAID if the region Id/SAID in the paging message is different from the region Id/SAID previously obtained from MSI in the camped cell.

Referring to fig. 7a and 7b, the system modification intervals N-1(710a), N (710b), N +1(710c), and N +2(710d) may be on the order of tens of seconds to hundreds of seconds. The system modification interval may be defined in terms of a paging cycle or an integer multiple of a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle (i.e., based on a so-called modification factor). Since the paging cycle is UE specific and different UEs may be configured with different paging cycles, the system modification intervals of the different UEs may still be aligned based on the appropriate configuration of the modification coefficients of each UE. A UE 102 camped on a cell 1104a controlled by the eNB 1103 a acquires Other System Information (OSI) (i.e., SI blocks (SIBs)) from the TRP 105 serving the UE 102 in the camped cell (i.e., cell 1104 a) in the modification interval N710 b. The UE 102 stores the acquired other system information (i.e., SIT 720), which includes one or more configuration/version lists for each SIB and associated SCI. For simplicity, the stored system information (i.e., SIT 720) is shown, which depicts only the SCIs associated with each SIB. However, the stored system information (i.e., SIT 720) can be similar to the detailed SIT structure described in FIG. 5a including a configuration/version list of each SIB and associated SCI, as well as area Id/SAID.

Fig. 7a illustrates an example scenario when the changed SCI and/or area Id obtained from the MSI is available in the stored SIT 720 after receiving a system information change indication in the paging message. During system information modification N710 b, the UE 102 camps on cell 1104a after reading the MSI broadcast by the TRP 105 belonging to cell 1104 a. In the obtained MSI, the UE 102 reads the SCI and/or the area Id/SAID associated with each SIB. The UE 102 applies the configuration 730 with reference to the stored SIT 720 according to the SCI and/or the area Id/SAID from the MSI acquired in interval N710 b. Application configuration 730 refers to, for example, SCI # 1731 of SIB X, SCI # 3732 of SIB Y, and SCI # 1733 of SIB Z. After applying the configuration, the UE 102 performs idle/inactive mode operation, such as monitoring the PDCCH/ePDCCH during the paging occasion of each paging cycle, to check whether the paging message is sent by the camped cell (i.e., cell 1104 a).

The paging message may not be sent every paging occasion because there may not be a paging record for any UE. Whenever the TRP of the serving cell transmits a paging message during modification interval N710 b, paging message 740 may include at least the SCI and/or area Id/SAID associated with each SIB and a paging record for one or more UEs 102. The SCI and/or area Id/SAID associated with each SIB sent in the paging message 740 during interval N710 b is the same as the SCI and/or area Id/SAID broadcast in the MSI by the TRP 105 of the serving cell during interval N710 b. The TRP of the serving cell may transmit a paging message during each paging occasion in the modification interval N710 b even if there is no paging record for the individual UE. This is possible when the configuration/version of certain SIB(s) applicable to cell 1104a is expected to be changed or updated in system modification interval N + 1710 c (i.e., time domain update of system information). Paging message 740, including area Id # 1742, SCI #1 of SIB X, SCI #3 of SIB Y, and SCI # 1743 of SIB Z, and system information change indication (i.e., a single bit) 741 are transmitted in each paging occasion during system modification interval N710 b. Determining an update or change or modification of a configuration of one or more SI blocks (SIBs) based on the presence of a system information change indicator in a paging message, wherein the system information change indicator may be a single bit indicating that at least one SI block (SIB) available in a cell is updated or changed or modified.

During the paging occasion in the modification interval N710 b, the UE 102 monitors the PDCCH/ePDCCH addressed with a P-RNTI indicating the presence and resources that the paging message can be decoded. Upon decoding the paging message 740, the UE 102 detects a system information change indication 741 indicating that the UE 102 should read the MSI transmitted by the TRP 105 of the camped cell (i.e., cell 1104 a) at the beginning of the system modification interval N + 1710 c to determine which configuration corresponding to the SIB has been changed or updated or modified. If the UE 102 is still camped on cell 1104a, the UE 102 acquires the MSI 750 broadcasted by the TRP 105 of cell 1104a from the beginning of the modification interval N + 1710 c. MSI 750 acquired during interval N + 1710 c refers to area Id # 1751, SCI # 2752 of SIB X, SCI # 1753 of SIB Y, and SCI # 1754 of SIB Z. UE 102 determines that the SCIs associated with SIB X and SIB Y have changed, while the SCI associated with SIB Z remains unchanged, even though the area Id/SAID has not changed in MSI 750 acquired in interval N + 1710 c compared to the MSI acquired in interval N710 b. In comparison with MSI acquired in interval N710 b, in MSI 750 acquired in interval N + 1710 c, SIB X SCI is changed from SCI # 1731 to SCI # 2752, SIB Y SCI is changed from SCI # 3732 to SCI # 1753, and SIB Z SCI remains unchanged as SCI # 1754/733.

Since the SCIs of SIB X and SIB Y have changed, the UE 102 needs to reacquire and apply the new configurations associated with SIB X and SIB Y. UE 102 then refers to the stored information (i.e., SIT 720) to check whether the configurations associated with SIB X's SCI # 2752 and SIB Y's SCI # 1753 in the configuration list are available. Because the required configurations associated with SIB X and SIB Y based on the SCI value obtained from MSI 750 are available in the stored system information (i.e., SIT 720), and the validity timer for the respective configuration has not expired; the UE 102 need not perform reacquisition of the new configuration. UE 102 disables the previous configurations of SIB X, SIB Y, and SIB Z and applies new configuration 760 from the stored system information (i.e., SIT 720) according to SIB X's SCI # 2761, SIB Y's SCI # 1762, and SIB Z's SCI # 1763, respectively. During the modification interval N + 1710 c, if any paging message is transmitted, the paging message will include the area Id #1 and SCI #2 of SIB X, SCI #1 of SIB Y and SCI #1 of SIB Z, respectively, which are the same as those transmitted in MSI 750.

Fig. 7b illustrates an example scenario when the changed SCI and/or area Id obtained from the MSI is not available in the stored SIT 720 after receiving a system information change indication in the paging message. The TRP of the serving cell in modification interval N710 b may transmit a paging message during each paging occasion even if there is no paging record for the individual UE. This is possible when the configuration/version of certain SIB(s) applicable in cell 1104a (i.e., time domain updates of system information) is expected to be changed or updated in system modification interval N + 1710 c. Paging message 740, including area Id # 1742, SCI #1 of SIB X, SCI #3 of SIB Y, and SCI # 1743 of SIB Z, and system information change indication (i.e., bitmap) 741, is transmitted in each paging occasion during system modification interval N710 b. Determining an update or change or modification of a configuration of one or more SI blocks (SIBs) based on a presence of a system information change indicator in a paging message. The system information change indicator may be a bitmap indicating that the SI blocks (SIBs) available in the camped cell 104 are updated/changed/modified. The bitmap received in modification interval N710 b that is included in paging message 740 indicates that the configuration corresponding to SIB X, SIB Y and SIB Z is expected to be updated or changed or modified in modification interval N + 1710 c. In fig. 7b, MSI 750 acquired during interval N + 1710 c refers to area Id # 1751, SIB X's SCI # 3752, SIB Y's SCI # 1753, and SIB Z's SCI # 2754. UE 102 determines that the SCIs associated with SIB X, SIB Y and SIB Z have changed even though the area Id has not changed in MSI 750 acquired in interval N + 1710 c compared to the MSI acquired in interval N710 b. In comparison with MSI acquired in interval N710 b, in MSI 750 acquired in interval N + 1710 c, SIB X SCI is changed from SCI # 1731 to SCI # 3752, SIB Y SCI is changed from SCI # 3732 to SCI # 1753, and SIB Z SCI is changed from SCI # 1733 to SCI # 2754. Since the SCIs of SIB X, SIB Y, and SIB Z have changed, the UE 102 needs to reacquire and apply the new configurations associated with SIB X, SIB Y, and SIB Z.

In addition, UE 102 then refers to the stored system information (i.e., stored SIT 720) to check whether the configuration associated with SIB X's SCI # 3752, SIB Y's SCI # 1753, and SIB Z's SCI # 2754 in the configuration list is available. Since the required configurations associated with SIB X and SIB Z based on the SCI value obtained from MSI 750 are not available in the stored system information (i.e., SIT 720), UE 102 should obtain the new configuration. In the acquired MSI 750, since the broadcast indicator/flag 755 is FALSE (i.e., other system information is not periodically broadcast), the UE 102 should trigger the SI request procedure to acquire the new configuration corresponding to SIB X and SIB Z. UE 102 performs the SI request-response procedure as shown in fig. 4a to obtain the configuration of SIB X associated with SCI # 3752 and the configuration of SIB Z associated with SCI # 2754. The configuration of SIB Y associated with SCI # 1753 is available in the stored system information (i.e., SIT 720), and the validity timer for the SIB Y configuration has not expired; so that there is no need to request the configuration of SIB Y. After obtaining the new configurations of SIB X and SIB Z through the request-response procedure, UE 102 stores the new configurations in a configuration list existing with SIT 720, along with the associated SCIs.

Further, UE 102 disables the previous configurations of SIB X, SIB Y, and SIB Z and applies new configuration 760 from updated SIT 720 according to SIB X's SCI # 3761, SIB Y's SCI # 1762, and SIB Z's SCI # 2763, respectively. During the modification interval N + 1710 c, if any paging message is transmitted, the paging message will include the area Id #1 and SCI #3 of SIB X, SCI #1 of SIB Y, and SCI #2 of SIB Z, respectively, which are the same as transmitted in the MSI 750. In fig. 7a and 7b, it is optional to send the area ids available in the camped cell and/or the SCIs associated with each SIB in the paging message when the paging message includes a system information change indication in the modification interval N710 b. However, UE 102 is required to read the MSI from the beginning of modification interval N + 1710 c to determine the changed SCI. This UE requirement to reacquire MSI from the beginning of the modification interval N + 1710 c can be avoided by the alternative proposed in fig. 7 c.

Fig. 7c illustrates a scenario where a system information change indication is included in a paging message with a changed SCI and/or area Id. During system information modification N710 b, the UE 102 camps on cell 1104a after reading the MSI broadcast by the TRPs belonging to cell 1104 a. In the obtained MSI, the UE 102 reads the SCI and/or the area Id/SAID associated with each SIB. Further, the UE 102 applies the configuration 730 referring to the stored SIT 720 according to the SCI and/or the area Id/SAID from the acquired MSI in the interval N710 b. The configuration 730 of the application refers to, for example, SCI # 1731 of SIB X, SCI # 3732 of SIB Y, and SCI # 1733 of SIB Z. After applying the configuration, the UE 102 performs idle/inactive mode operation of monitoring the PDCCH/ePDCCH as during the paging occasion of each paging cycle to check whether the paging message is sent by the camped cell (i.e. cell 1104 a).

The TRP of the serving cell in modification interval N710 b transmits a paging message during each paging occasion even if there is no paging record for the individual UE. This is possible when the configuration/version of certain SIB(s) applicable in cell 1104a (i.e., time domain updates of system information) is expected to be changed or updated in system modification interval N + 1710 c. Paging message 740, including area Id # 1742, SCI #3 of SIB X, SCI #1 of SIB Y, and SCI # 1743 of SIB Z, and system information change indication (i.e., bitmap) 741, is transmitted in each paging occasion during system modification interval N710 b. An update or change or modification of a configuration of a corresponding SI block (SIB) is determined based on a bit status of a corresponding bit in a bitmap indicated by a system information change in a paging message and a plurality of changed SCIs. For example, the length of the bitmap is equal to the number of available SIBs in the camped cell other than MIB #1 and MIB #2(SIB1), where a bit state of "1" indicates that the corresponding SIB is expected to be changed/updated/modified, and a bit state of "0" indicates that the corresponding SIB remains unchanged.

Further, the SCIs associated with the SI blocks indicated by the bit status in the bitmap included in the paging message are different from the SCIs of the corresponding SI blocks previously obtained from the MSI in the camped cell 104. The paging message 740 acquired during the interval N710 b refers to the area Id # 1742, SCI #3 of SIB X, SCI #1 of SIB Y and SCI # 1743 of SIB Z, and the system information change indication 741. Furthermore, UE 102 determines that the SCIs associated with SIB X and SIB Y have changed while the SCI of SIB Z remains changed even though the zone Id has not changed in page 740 received in interval N710 b compared to MSI 730 obtained in interval N710 b. In comparison with the paging message received in interval N710 b, in MSI 730 acquired in interval N710 b, SIB X SCI is changed from SCI # 1731 to SCI # 3743, SIB Y SCI is changed from SCI # 3732 to SCI # 1743, and SIB Z SCI remains unchanged for SCI # 1743 and 733. In this case, when the system information change indication is a bitmap in paging message 740 during interval N710 b, and the changed SCI corresponds to a bit state in the bitmap for which the associated SI block (SIB) configuration is expected to be updated or changed or modified, UE 102 is not required to read MSI 750 at the beginning of the next modification interval N + 1710 c. Furthermore, UE 102 simply assumes that if the updated SIBs (i.e., SIB X and SIB Y) are not present in the stored system information (i.e., SIT 720), cell 1104a will temporarily broadcast the updated SIBs in the corresponding SI window from the beginning of modification interval N + 1710 c to reacquire the updated SIBs.

Fig. 8 is a generic design (800) for changing system information configuration according to zone Id/SAID included in MSI according to embodiments herein. The system information modification intervals N-1810 a, N810 b, N + 1810 c, and N + 2810 d may be on the order of tens of seconds to hundreds of seconds. A UE 102 camped on a cell 1104a controlled by an eNB 1103 a acquires Other System Information (OSI) from a TRP 105 serving the UE 102 in a modification interval N810 b. In addition, UE 102 stores acquired Other System Information (OSI) (i.e., SIT 820), which includes one or more configuration/version lists for each SIB and associated SCI. For simplicity, SIT 820 is shown, which depicts only the SCIs associated with each SIB. However, SIT 820 can be similar to the detailed SIT structure described in FIG. 5a, including a configuration list of each SIB and associated SCI, as well as area Id/SAID. When the network uses the same SCI for different configurations/versions of SIBs within the area Id/SAID range, then the UE 102 is not required to maintain all configurations/versions of the SIBs associated with that SCI in the stored SIT. In the SIT 820, the UE maintains the configuration of each SIB associated with the respective SCI corresponding to area Id # 1. Upon determining that the configuration needs to be updated based on the area Id/SAID change, the UE 102, upon acquiring the new configuration, replaces the old configuration with the new configuration in the SIT associated with the same SCI of the SIB corresponding to the new area Id/SAID.

Further, the UE 102 camps on the cell 1104a after reading the MSI broadcast by the TRP 105 belonging to the cell 1104 a. In the obtained MSI, the UE 102 reads the SCI and/or the area Id/SAID associated with each SIB. Further, the UE 102 applies a configuration referring to the stored system information (i.e., SIT 820) according to the SCI and/or the area Id/SAID #1 from the MSI acquired in the interval N810 b. The configuration 830 applied refers to SCI # 1832 of SIB X, SCI # 3833 of SIB Y and SCI # 1834 of SIB Z corresponding to area Id/SAID # 1831. The area Id/SAID # 1831 is common to the configuration of all SIBs. This should not be considered limiting, where for the configuration of a particular SIB, the area Id/SAID may be specified. After applying the configuration, the UE 102 performs idle/inactive mode operation of monitoring the PDCCH/ePDCCH as during the paging occasion of each paging cycle to check whether the paging message is sent by the camped cell (i.e. cell 1104 a). Whenever a paging message is sent by the TRP 105 of the serving cell during the modification interval N810 b, the paging message 840 includes at least the SCI and/or area Id/SAID associated with each SIB and a paging record for one or more UEs 102 a-102 c. The SCI and/or area Id/SAID associated with each SIB sent in the paging message 840 during interval N810 b is the same as the SCI and/or area Id/SAID broadcast in the MSI by the TRP 105 of the serving cell (i.e., cell 1104 a) during interval N810 b. Paging message 840, including area Id # 1841, SIB X's SCI #1, SIB Y's SCI #3, and SIB Z's SCI # 1842, may be transmitted in each paging occasion during system modification interval N810 b.

During the modification interval N810 b, a UE 102 camped on a cell 1104a served by one or more TRPs 105 controlled by the eNB 103a may experience poor signal quality from the cell 1104a due to mobility towards the cell edge. The UE 102 may detect synchronization signals from one or more TRPs controlled by the eNB 103b serving cell 2104 b, and upon synchronization signal detection, may perform a signal strength comparison of the cell 1104a quality and the cell 2104 b quality based on a Beam Reference Signal (BRS) or some reference signals. The TRP of cell 2104 b periodically broadcasts a corresponding MSI 850. If the signal quality of cell 2104 b is better than the signal quality of cell 1104a, UE 102 performs cell reselection according to a threshold criterion, also referred to as a cell reselection criterion, and camps on cell 2104 b. The MSI 850 acquired from the cell 2104 b during the interval N810 b refers to the area Id # 2851, the SCI # 1852 of SIB X, the SCI # 2853 of SIB Y, and the SCI # 1854 of SIB Z. Further, the UE 102 determines that the area Id/SAID associated with SIB X, SIB Y, and SIB Z has been changed to area Id # 2851, i.e., the spatial domain of the system information is changed, compared to area Id # 1831 of the cell 1104a, even though the SCIs associated with SIB X, SIB Y, and SIB Z in MSI 850 acquired from the cell 2104 b are not changed, compared to MSI 830 acquired from the cell 1104 a.

Since the area Id/SAID has changed, the configurations associated with SIB X, SIB Y, and SIB Z based on the SCI values obtained from MSI 850 need to be updated in SIT 820. Therefore, the UE 102 should acquire a new configuration according to the area Id/SAID # 2851 associated with SIB X, SIB Y and SIB Z for the same SCI value. In the acquired MSI 850, if the broadcast indicator/flag is FALSE, the UE 102 should trigger the SI request procedure, otherwise if the broadcast indicator/flag is TRUE, the UE 102 acquires the new configuration from the SI window of the corresponding SIB. If the broadcast indicator/flag is FALSE, the UE 102 triggers an SI request procedure as shown in FIG. 4a to obtain the update configuration of SIB X associated with SCI # 1852, the update configuration of SIB Y associated with SCI # 3853, and the update configuration of SIB Z associated with SCI # 1854. After obtaining the new configuration through the SI request-response procedure or from periodic broadcast, the UE 102 replaces the old configuration with the new configuration corresponding to zone Id #2 and the associated SCI present in the configuration list in the SIT 820. In addition, UE 102 disables the previous configurations of SIB X, SIB Y, and SIB Z and applies new configuration 860 from updated SIT 820 according to SIB X's SCI # 1861, SIB Y's SCI # 3862, and SIB Z's SCI # 1863, respectively. During the modification interval N + 1810 c, if any paging message is transmitted, the paging message will include the area Id #2 and SCI #1 of SIB X, SCI #3 of SIB Y and SCI #1 of SIB Z, respectively, which are the same as those transmitted in MSI 850. The area Id/SAID associated with the configuration may also be included in the paging message.

In some cases where the network is required to decide to update the bulk configuration of the corresponding SIB, some modifications to the processes described in fig. 7b and 8 are required for updating the SIT. The network may include a system information change indication in the paging message in modification interval N and a SIT invalid flag in the MSI broadcast in modification interval N +1, which is set to TRUE to instruct UE 102 to clear all stored system information (i.e., SIT) and to obtain a new configuration based on the SCI obtained in the MSI. Furthermore, the network may then provide the configuration corresponding to the SCI broadcast in the MSI, as well as an additional configuration list and associated SCIs for which the primary update has been performed on the network side.

Fig. 9a is a block diagram illustrating various modules of a 5G eNB 103 according to embodiments as disclosed herein. In an embodiment, the 5G eNB 103 includes a communication module 902, a control signaling module 904, a processor module 906, a memory module 908, and a radio resource management module 910. In an embodiment, the communication module 902 is configured to broadcast the synchronization signal, the PBCH, and the SBCH to the plurality of UEs 102 a-102 c and 102 x-102 z. In another embodiment, the communication module 902 is configured to receive and detect system information requests from a plurality of UEs 102 a-102 c and 102 x-102 z. In yet another embodiment, the communication module 902 is configured to transmit a system information response message or broadcast OSI to the plurality of UEs 102 a-102 c and 102 x-102 z during the SI window. In an embodiment, the communication module 902 is configured to communicate RRC signaling to the UE 102 and from the UE 102. For example, the wireless communication module 902 in the 5G eNB 103 may be configured to communicate a System Information Table (SIT) to one or

more UEs

102a, 102b, 102 c. Further, the communication module 902 in the 5G eNB 103 may be configured to transmit and receive data from one or

more UEs

102a, 102b, 102c according to physical layer waveforms and coding for next generation wireless systems. The control signaling module 904 in the 5G eNB 103 may be configured to prepare related RRC messages to be sent to the UE 102 and may also be configured to parse related RRC messages received from the UE 102.

Further, the control signaling module 904 in the 5G eNB 103 may be configured to determine bearers to be transmitted within the respective cells 104 in the eNB 103. The bearers described herein may be Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) or Signaling Radio Bearers (SRBs). The selection of the bearer is based on several variables including, but not limited to, for example, Quality of Service requirements (QoS), traffic characteristics of the bearer, and the load and coverage area of the serving cell of the eNB 103.

The processing module 906 operates in synchronization and executes instructions based on the timing signal generated by the clock chip.

Further, the memory module 908 is also configured to store information related to the operation of the 5G eNB 103 and UE 102. The memory module 908 may be configured to store various UE-related configurations when the UE 102 is in an inactive/connected mode. The radio resource management module 910 is responsible for the respective aspects such as beam level mobility and cell level mobility. The radio resource management module 910 in the 5G eNB 103 may be configured to evaluate the handover decision based on BRS measurement reports transmitted by one or more UEs 102 a-102 c and 102 x-102 z. The 5G eNB 103 receives measurement reports from one or more UEs 102a to 102c and 102x to 102z and decides to perform handover for that particular UE. Similarly, the radio resource management module 910 in the 5G eNB 103 may be configured to receive CSI-RS RSRP measurements for handling the measurement set and candidate set of beam level mobility handling for one or

more UEs

102a, 102b, 102c, etc.

Fig. 9b is a block diagram illustrating various modules of UE 102 according to embodiments as disclosed herein. In an embodiment, the UE 120 includes a communication module 912, a control signaling module 914, a processor module 916, a memory module 918, a radio resource management module 920, and a display module 922. In an embodiment, the communication module 912 is configured to decode the synchronization signal, the beam index sequence, the PBCH, and the SBCH broadcast by the 5G eNB 102. In an embodiment, the communication module 912 is configured to transmit an SI request for requesting one or more SIBs and/or SIT on resources configured by the eNB 103. In an embodiment, the communication module 912 is configured to receive a system information response message or receive one or more blocks transmitted by the 5G eNB 103 during a respective SI window. In an embodiment, the communication module 912 is configured to signal RRC signaling to the 5G eNB 103 and from the 5G eNB 103. For example, the wireless communication module 912 in the UE 102 may be configured to communicate to the 5G eNB 103a request for an SIT update or for triggering an SI request procedure, a measurement report, and an RRC reconfiguration complete message. Further, the communication module 912 in the UE 102 may perform a random access procedure on the cell 104 of the next generation RAT served by the 5G eNB 103. Further, the communication module 912 in the UE 102 may be configured to transmit and receive data from the 5G eNB 103 according to the physical layer waveforms and coding assumed for the next generation wireless system.

The control signaling module 914 in the UE 102 may be configured to prepare related RRC messages to be sent to the 5G eNB 103 and may also be configured to parse related RRC messages received from the 5G eNB 103.

Further, memory module 918 is configured to store information related to UE operation. The memory module 918 may be configured to store various configurations of minimum system configurations received from the 5G eNB 103 as received on the PBCH/SBCH, SIT received in a response message or obtained from a broadcast, measurement configurations, and so on. The radio resource management module 920 in the UE 102 is responsible for the respective aspects like cell level mobility and beam level mobility.

The radio resource management module 920 in the UE 102 may be configured to evaluate cell selection/reselection switching events and perform CSI-RS RSRP measurements based on BRS measurements, respectively. The display module 922 in the UE 102 may be configured such that when the UE 102 operates in the dual-connectivity mode of operation, information may be input by a user or information may be output on a display for the user to understand some UE operations. Most UE operations are transparent to the user and may not require user input nor output on a display.

Fig. 10a is a flow chart 1000a illustrating a method for providing SI by a base station 103 in a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment as disclosed herein.

At step 1002a, the method includes transmitting a broadcast channel to at least one UE 102. The broadcast channel periodically transmits the MSI including at least one of the first MIB and the second MIB. In an embodiment, the method allows the communication module 902 to transmit a broadcast channel to at least one UE 102.

At step 1004a, the method includes providing OSI to at least one UE 102 based on at least one of periodic broadcast and on-demand basis. The on-demand delivery of at least one SI block of an OSI is based on an SI request procedure triggered by at least one UE 102. An on-demand basis for delivering OSI SI blocks available in the camped cell 104 is decided based on at least one of an indication and a flag included in the MSI of the SI block. In an embodiment, the method allows the radio resource management module 910 to provide OSI to the at least one UE 102 based on at least one of periodic broadcast and on-demand basis.

At step 1006a, the method is included transmitting a paging message on a paging channel to indicate to the at least one UE 102 that it is desired to update at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell 104. In an embodiment, the method allows the radio resource management module 910 to send a paging message on a paging channel to indicate to at least one UE 102 that it is desired to update at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell 104.

The various actions, acts, blocks, steps, etc. in flowchart 1000a may be performed in the order presented, in a different order, or concurrently. Moreover, in some embodiments, some of the actions, acts, blocks, steps, etc. may be omitted, added, modified, skipped, etc., without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Fig. 10b is a flow chart 1000b illustrating a method for providing SI for a UE 102 in a wireless communication system 100 according to an embodiment as disclosed herein.

At step 1002b, the method includes decoding the broadcast channel to obtain the MSI periodically transmitted by the base station 103. In an embodiment, the method allows the communication module 912 to decode the broadcast channel to obtain MSI periodically transmitted by the base station.

At step 1004b, the method includes applying at least one cell selection parameter indicated in the MSI to camp on the cell 104 served by the base station 103. In an embodiment, the method allows the radio resource management module 920 to apply at least one cell selection parameter indicated in the MSI to camp on the cell 104 served by the base station 103.

At step 1006b, the method includes storing the MSI. In an embodiment, the method allows the memory module 918 to store the MSI.

At step 1008b, the method includes accessing the camped cell 104 based on the at least one random access parameter indicated in the MSI. In an embodiment, the method allows the radio resource management module 920 to access the camped cell 104 based on at least one random access parameter indicated in the MSI.

At step 1010b, the method includes determining whether to provide at least one of the SI blocks of the OSI that are available in the camped cell 104 based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis. An on-demand basis for delivering OSI SI blocks available in the camped cell 104 is decided based on at least one of an indication and a flag included in the MSI for the SI block. In an embodiment, the method allows the radio resource management module 920 to determine whether to provide at least one of the SI blocks of the OSI available in the camped cell 104 based on at least one of a periodic broadcast and an on-demand basis.

At step 1012b, the method includes monitoring a paging channel to receive a paging message to determine whether updating of at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell 104 is expected. In an embodiment, the method allows the radio resource management module 920 to monitor the paging channel to receive paging messages to determine whether it is expected to update at least one of the SI blocks available in the camped cell 104.

The various actions, acts, blocks, steps, etc. in flowchart 1000b may be performed in the order presented, in a different order, or concurrently. Moreover, in some embodiments, some of the actions, acts, blocks, steps, etc. may be omitted, added, modified, skipped, etc., without departing from the scope of the present invention.

When the embodiments are implemented in software, firmware, middleware, or microcode, program code or code segments, they may be stored in a machine-readable medium, such as a storage component. A code segment may refer to a procedure, a function, a subprogram, a program, a routine, a subroutine, a module, a software package, a class, or a random combination of commands, data structures, or program description statements. A code segment may be coupled to another code segment or a hardware circuit by sending and/or receiving information, data, factors, parameters, or memory contents. Information, factors, parameters, and data may be transmitted using any suitable means, including memory sharing, message transmission, token transmission, and network transmission.

Further, various actions, acts, blocks, steps, etc. in the flowcharts or sequence diagrams may be performed in the order presented, in a different order, or simultaneously. Moreover, in some embodiments, some of the actions, acts, blocks, steps, etc. may be omitted, added, modified, skipped, etc., without departing from the scope of the present invention. To implement software, the techniques described herein may be implemented as modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. The software codes may be stored in memory units and executed by processors. The memory unit may be implemented within the processor or external to the processor. In such a case, the memory unit may be coupled to the processor to be communicable through various means known in the art. Although the present disclosure has been described with exemplary embodiments, various changes and modifications may be suggested to one skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A method performed by a terminal in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

acquiring a System Information Block (SIB) broadcasted from a first cell, the SIB comprising a system configuration index associated with the SIB, a system information area identifier associated with the SIB, and an indicator indicating area-or cell-specific for the SIB;

storing the acquired SIB; and

in performing cell selection from a first cell to a second cell, acquiring another SIB broadcasted from the second cell, the other SIB including a system configuration index associated with the other SIB, a system information region identifier associated with the other SIB, and an indicator indicating region-specific or cell-specific for the other SIB.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining the validity of the stored SIB in the second cell by comparing a system configuration index associated with the other SIB, a system information region identifier associated with the other SIB, and an indicator indicating region-specific or cell-specific for the other SIB with a system configuration index associated with the stored SIB, a system information region identifier associated with the stored SIB, and an indicator indicating region-specific or cell-specific for the stored SIB.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the validity of the stored SIB in the second cell comprises:

determining that the stored SIB is valid for the second cell if a system configuration index associated with the other SIB, a system information region identifier associated with the other SIB, and an indicator indicating that the region-specific or cell-specific for the other SIB correspond to the system configuration index associated with the stored SIB, the system information region identifier associated with the stored SIB, and the indicator indicating that the region-specific or cell-specific for the stored SIB.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the determining the validity of the stored SIB in the second cell comprises:

determining that the stored SIB is invalid for the second cell if the system configuration index associated with the other SIB, the system information region identifier associated with the other SIB, and the indicator indicating that the region-specific or cell-specific for the other SIB do not correspond to the system configuration index associated with the stored SIB, the system information region identifier associated with the stored SIB, and the indicator indicating that the region-specific or cell-specific for the stored SIB.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a Master Information Block (MIB) comprising information for the SIB1 from the first cell or the second cell, wherein the information for the SIB1 comprises information indicating that the first cell or the second cell does not provide the SIB1 to the terminal.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving Downlink Control Information (DCI) from the first cell or the second cell through a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based on a paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI), wherein the DCI includes an indication indicating a change of the SIB or the another SIB.

7. A terminal in a wireless communication system, the terminal comprising:

a transceiver; and

at least one processor configured to:

acquiring, via a transceiver, a System Information Block (SIB) broadcasted from a first cell, the SIB comprising a system configuration index associated with the SIB, a system information region identifier associated with the SIB, and an indicator indicating a region-specific or cell-specific for the SIB;

storing the acquired SIB; and

in performing cell selection from a first cell to a second cell, another SIB broadcasted from the second cell is acquired via a transceiver, the another SIB including a system configuration index associated with the another SIB, a system information region identifier associated with the another SIB, and an indicator indicating region-specific or cell-specific for the another SIB.

8. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to: determining the validity of the stored SIB in the second cell by comparing a system configuration index associated with the other SIB, a system information region identifier associated with the other SIB, and an indicator indicating region-specific or cell-specific for the other SIB with a system configuration index associated with the stored SIB, a system information region identifier associated with the stored SIB, and an indicator indicating region-specific or cell-specific for the stored SIB.

9. The terminal of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

10. The terminal of claim 8, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

11. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

receiving, via the transceiver, a Master Information Block (MIB) comprising information for the SIB1 from the first cell or the second cell, wherein the information for the SIB1 comprises information indicating that the first cell or the second cell does not provide the SIB1 to the terminal.

12. The terminal of claim 7, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to:

receiving, via a transceiver, Downlink Control Information (DCI) from a first cell or a second cell over a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) based on a paging radio network temporary identifier (P-RNTI), wherein the DCI includes an indication indicating a change of the SIB or the another SIB.